Embracing company-wide sustainability practices

The Business News Staff

Staff

December 16, 2022

FOND DU LAC – As one of Northeast Wisconsin’s top employers, Mercury Marine – a marine engine division of Brunswick Corporation – has long been known as a top manufacturer of outboard marine propulsion products.

As of late, the Fond du Lac-headquartered company is putting itself on the map for something President Chris Drees said the company takes very seriously – sustainability.

“We are in a unique position to drive more sustainable processes, minimize our environmental impact and positively affect the communities in which we live and work,” Drees said.

Earlier this fall, Mercury Marine was recognized by the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council (WSBC) as a leader in its industry and community in terms of sustainability – bringing home two awards.

Drees was recognized with the Executive Sustainable Leadership award, while the company’s sustainability manager, Scott Louks was recognized as Sustainable Champion.

Decades-long focus
Drees said the company’s commitment to sustainability spans decades.

“Our teams across the globe have built sustainability into every aspect of how we operate, and it has become part of our DNA,” he said. “Our successes show we prioritize sustainability in everything we do.”

Spending much of his career in operations, Louks – who has been with Mercury Marine for 25 years – said he has always focused on reducing energy consumption.

“About seven years ago, I was tapped on the shoulder to not only drive energy reduction activity but also to take on the responsibility at Mercury Marine for our sustainability efforts and our best practices,” he said. “To drive those within our strategy, within our operations, within our workforce and within the community.”

Drees said Mercury Marine’s focus on sustainability comes back to the company’s four key pillars – energy, environment, product and people.

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He said some of the energy-conserving initiatives the company has implemented, include modernized equipment, redesigned facilities, redirecting and reusing manufacturing-generated heat, new and energy-efficient technologies and investing in renewable sources of energy.

In terms of the environment, Louks said Mercury Marine cleans the air and water it returns to the environment, kept its commitment to smelting only recycled aluminum for manufacturing and established another “zero waste to landfill” facility.

“We are a company that makes outboard marine propulsion products – we better have our eye on the environment,” he said.

Mercury Marine’s focus on sustainable products, Drees said, led to an industry-changing, fuel-efficient marine engine, as well as the development of its first electric outboard concept.

“We have to make sure products that our customers love and enjoy, but that are better for the environment and better for the customers,” Louks said.

He said from a people standpoint, Mercury Marine needs to make sure it’s doing right by its more than 4,000 employees worldwide.

Louks said with 80 different facilities in 20-plus countries, “we better be good in the communities where we are.”

“We want to be good stewards for the communities we serve, where we work, where we have people live and where we have our operations,” he said.

Louks said a fifth unstated pillar is leadership.

“Leadership starts at the company president, but all of us then are part of that whole umbrella for leadership as we take this and move that forward,” he said.

Louks said the company’s continuous focus on sustainable practices is a collaborative achievement.

“When you start out, you find out it’s not a singular person, and you have to try to get a collection of the best minds – people that have it in their mind to do it, but also have it in their heart,” he said.

Louks said Mercury Marine understood it first needed to understand its baseline.

“Understanding those key metrics,” he said. “What is our energy consumption? What is our water consumption? What are our missions on our end engines that are out in the field? What kind of waste do we make across the organization? All those things have to be understood because you cannot prove what you don’t measure.”

Louks said it’s important to set specific, measurable objectives.

“Then you start to integrate those objectives into your plan and you start work moving forward from there,” he said. “And as you move that across, you find out the things you can turn the dial on and make improvements. You’re going to find things that don’t work out well, and then you pivot and find a different way to get at it, and then work toward it.”

Louks said the initiatives Mercury Marine has implemented have been done worldwide.

“The things we’re doing here, we’re doing in other countries where we operate,” he said. “We also send strong communication messages to our people – because you have to communicate successes and then you have to also communicate where you have targets,” he said. “They may be aggressive or they may be tough targets, but you want to make sure people understand that and that’s where you’re driving it toward.”

Specific practices
Specifically, Louks said Mercury Marine has done a lot of work with energy efficiency and reducing its energy footprint.
“Making sure we put in best practices for energy management,” he said.

Louks said that includes the company-wide installation of LED lighting systems.

“So, that helps in reducing our energy consumption,” he said. “Making sure we are working with our HVAC systems, and making sure that is managed for not just comfort levels, but the proper operation – making sure when people are not occupying a space we understand that and we’re not running motors and pumps when people aren’t here.”

Louks said Mercury Marine uses compressed air.

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“Compressed air sounds, some might say, ‘it’s just air,’” he said. “Well, it takes electricity to make that compressed air – so we want to make sure we’re managing that properly.”

In that same vein, Louks said the company’s move to renewable energy is one he is very proud of.

“That isn’t something that comes easy,” he said. “When you’re making this awesome product that Mercury Marine makes, you want to make sure you’re bringing forward projects that are high value, and we were able to do that with our renewable energy projects.”

This included the installation of a solar array on the company’s Fond du Lac building.

“We did it overseas in Belgium first, but our first one at our world headquarters here in Fond du Lac was done a couple of years ago,” he said.

Drees said the array – which includes 320 panels, each measuring six feet wide and four feet tall – sits atop the Fond du Lac warehouse roof and generates enough electricity to light the company’s warehouse operation for the next 30 years.

The 2,000-panel array in Petit Rechain, Belgium, he said, reduces the amount of electricity the facility draws from the grid by 33%, which in turn lowers the facility’s utility costs.

Drees said these, and the addition of the second one planned in Fond du Lac County contributes to the commitment to derive 50% of the company’s electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2030.

“These steps will combine with many others over the next 10 years to increase the proportion of energy we will draw from renewable sources,” he said. “We are committed to our focus on sustainable business practices, including investing in renewable energy and reduction of our carbon footprint.”

Louks said the company recently announced its plans to install a second array in Fond du Lac County.

“The five-megawatt solar array is going to be on the eastern side of Fond du Lac County, and that one will help to account for 10% of our electricity,” he said.

Industry recognition
In addition to the most recent (WSBC) awards, Drees said Mercury Marine has “earned industry recognition with our 11th Green Masters designation and the Corporate Energy Management Award from the Association of Energy Engineers.”

Louks said the recognition is humbling.

“It was super humbling to even have been put into the running (for the Sustainable Champion award),” he said.
Louks said as more and more businesses actively integrate sustainability principles into their everyday operations, it’s important to highlight their efforts.

“We know customers want to buy from companies that have their eye on the ball for that kind of thing,” he said. “Employees want to work for companies that are doing the right thing. Investors are looking for that. Suppliers want to supply to companies that are doing the right thing. These are all important for sustainability.”