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Chemours Recognized for Sustainability Achievements at the U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit

CC | April 9, 2024

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 9, 2024 / The Chemours Company

Last week, at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) annual Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit in Washington, D.C., Chemours' representatives, Catherine Collison and Josie Stoner, accepted two Better Plants Awards on behalf of the company. The summit, which focused on innovative strategies for energy efficiency, decarbonization, and waste reduction, recognized Chemours with two awards for our sustainable advancements in manufacturing. It is the second year in a row Chemours has been recognized with two Better Plants Awards.

The Better Practice Award recognized Chemours' introduction of an internal bonus metric based on implementing sustained energy efficiency projects. In the first year of implementation, this initiative cut energy intensity across the company by 3.5%. The new program improved energy efficiency across 14 sites through process improvements, small capital projects, and control strategies.

Chemours also brought home a Better Project Award which recognizes outstanding accomplishments at individual facilities. The award went to our Corpus Christi, Texas manufacturing site for achieving over $1 million in annual savings on waste disposal costs. The team who worked on the project optimized the performance of an existing distillation column to significantly increase its recycling yield-effectively reducing waste by 60% in a single process step. The project increased yield and recycling without sacrificing quality or catalyst integrity in the reaction and the approach is being investigated for use at other Chemours locations.

"We are immensely proud to be recognized by our partners at the Department of Energy," said Dr. Amber Wellman, Chemours' Chief Sustainability Officer. "These awards reflect the exceptional efforts our teams have put into enhancing energy efficiency and reducing waste at our manufacturing sites," she continued.

"As a winner of both a Better Project and Better Practice award, The Chemours Company has demonstrated an innovative pathway to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions that other organizations can learn from," said Carolyn Snyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Buildings and Industry at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Not only did Chemours take home some hardware from the summit, but the company was also given a platform to present some of the great work our teams are doing to achieve our sustainability goals.

Catherine Collison had the opportunity to present on the energy efficiency program that earned Chemours the Better Practice Award-detailing the development of the internal metric and how the company executed the improvements that resulted in notable energy savings.

She also joined a session with DOE officials titled "Taking the Hy Road: Clean Hydrogen for Industry," where she discussed Chemours's role in the hydrogen economy and our strategy behind preparing for the potential implementation of clean hydrogen at our facilities as a lever for decarbonization.

Chemours' recognition at the DOE's Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit speaks to our unwavering commitment to sustainability and responsible manufacturing.

"As a science-based company, sustainability is core to everything we do-be it in our sustainable product offerings or our commitment to produce essential chemistries responsibly," Dr. Wellman explained following the recognition.

"These awards serve not just as a recognition of our success, but also as an inspiration for us to continue pushing forward in achieving our ambitious sustainability goals."

As a partner in DOE's Better Plants and Better Climate Challenge, Chemours is driving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy intensity at its U.S. sites, which align with and support the company's 2030 Sustainability Goals.