U.S. CEEM Members in Action: J.R. Simplot Company

Don Sturtevant is the corporate energy director of J.R. Simplot Company and the vice chair of U.S. CEEM. He is also serving on the Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy. During Sturtevant’s tenure, J.R. Simplot has implemented multiple energy efficiency projects. In 2009, J.R. Simplot joined the Better Plants Challenge (then known as Save Energy Now LEADER) and since then more than 10 of J.R. Simplot’s plants have reduced their energy intensity more than 5% and four plants reduced their energy intensity by 25% only three short years into the pledge, the best reducing a whopping 32%!  Together, these reductions have resulted in energy savings of more than 1.3 trillion Btu and a reduction of 95,056 tons of reduced greenhouse gas emissions. We recently caught up with Sturtevant and gathered some insights into how J.R. Simplot has worked to improve its corporate energy performance and how energy efficiency programs can deliver value to U.S. manufacturing.

Alliance: What one thing have you found that was helpful in driving energy performance improvements at J.R. Simplot?

DS: We’ve found that having passionate, dedicated energy champions at the factory level has driven amazing results. Having a person in each plant who has responsibilities for energy efficiency can drive significant improvements. At most of our facilities, this champion role is in addition to their full-time job. The opportunity now is to justify and get full-time energy champion employees.

Alliance: As a member of U.S. CEEM and a participant in a Superior Energy Performance (SEP) demonstration plant, you’re very familiar with SEP. Are there any areas where SEP could add more value?

DS: SEP is very sophisticated and is in an advanced phase of its development. If there is one thing that SEP and probably the Better Plants Program could upgrade is the recognition portions of their respective programs to the individual business units. It’s great when a company receives recognition, but it’s much better when the people doing the work get recognized. An annual awards event where the plant-level people could receive in-person recognition from peers or high-ranking officials would be a great addition. It’d be even better if high-performing facilities and teams were visited at their factory. We could tie it together with local government and media and really tell our employees’ stories of how they are making a difference, both for the company and the environment.   

Alliance: Are there other areas in which energy efficiency programs could add value?

DS: A while back we had a project to upgrade and expand the steam system at our Caldwell, ID, plant. One thing we could have used was some energy efficiency design assistance such as boiler specifications and practices. We ended up applying what we knew from our previous work on steam systems and the knowledge of our consultant, Bill Moir, which helped.

Alliance: How does J.R. Simplot view energy efficiency?

DS: Energy efficiency is an important part of the J.R. Simplot Company corporate culture. The company’s founder, Mr. Simplot, knew and incorporated Sustainability into every aspect of our Company, long before “sustainability” became a catch-phrase. Our leadership is highly supportive of all efficiency efforts and are concerned with doing more with less. We plan to carry on this tradition and manage energy use continuously as a way to improve our competitive position.