Mercury News

Mercury Marine Wins Business Friend of the Environment Award for the second time in four years

Madison, Wis. – Mercury Marine was presented a Wisconsin Business Friend of the Environment Award on Wednesday in Madison. This is the second time in four years that Mercury has won the award, also winning the honors in 2014. The Business Friend of the Environment Awards highlights the actions Wisconsin companies are taking in the areas of pollution prevention, innovative technology and environmental stewardship.

Earlier this year, Mercury Marine launched an all-new V-6 and V-8 FourStroke outboard platform, the largest engine launch in the company’s almost 80-year history. In all, 19 engines in the 175hp–300hp range, continue to delight consumers with exhilarating performance and reduced environmental impact.

“We are honored to win the Business Friend of the Environment Award for the second time,” said John Buelow, Mercury Marine vice president of global operations. “The validation-testing of both the V-6 and V-8 platforms have set a new benchmark in the marine industry relative to the reduced amount of raw materials required for their manufacture, as well as their fuel economy, emissions, and noise abatement.”

Mercury’s continued focus on sustainability has earned them a Green Masters designation for seven consecutive years and in June, Mercury’s Active Trim technology was honored as the Sustainable Product of the Year Award in Wisconsin.

“Fuel-efficiency, low emissions and a quiet engine are three of the many features that customers want in their outboard engines,” said Buelow. “Mercury’s V-6 models were 12-16 percent more fuel-efficient than their closest competitors at cruising speeds and the V-8s were 8-10 percent more fuel-efficient.”

“We invest a lot of time and effort in our global sustainability efforts,” said Scott Louks, Mercury Marine sustainability and facilities project management manager. “Our 2017 Sustainability report outlined our goals and our successes, and we are well on our way to meeting and exceeding the lofty goals we set out to achieve by 2019.”

Four pillars — Energy, Environment, Product and People — define Mercury’s global sustainability efforts. The company, its employees, customers and the communities that Mercury represents are invigorated when sustainability initiatives focus on these four key initiatives.

Some of Mercury’s sustainable headlines in 2017 include:

• The installation of approximately 2,000 rooftop solar panels at Mercury Marine’s facility in Petit‑Rechain, Belgium, has reduced annual electricity costs by more than 30%.
• Mercury Marine has invested in, and successfully implemented, new systems to redirect and reuse water for multiple purposes, and to more efficiently cool and heat water for industrial applications.
• Mercury implemented significant improvements to HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems, resulting in a reduction of related energy consumption by more than 11 billion BTUs annually and improved indoor air quality.
• Since 2015, Mercury recycled close to 750 tons of mixed paper, corrugated containers, plastic shrink wrap and drinking bottles. Additionally, approximately 950 tons of wood pallets were diverted from landfills and reconditioned for reuse.
• Throughout 2015 and 2016, Mercury Marine’s use of manufacturing balers prepared more than 1,200 tons of cardboard for recycling. The recycling of these materials resulted in energy savings of approximately 470,000 kWh, enough to power approximately 30 homes for one year.

Mercury’s entire sustainability report from 2017 can be viewed here.