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Merck & Co., Inc.:
Step 6 - Evaluate Progress
Merck & Co., Inc., as a partner of ENERGY STAR, is committed to enhancing its environmental and energy performance in all of its domestic facilities. Merck & Co., Inc. is a leading research-driven pharmaceutical products company. The company discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of innovative products to improve human and animal health directly and through its joint ventures.
Industrial Partner Since 1995
Awards & Recognition
- Partner of the Year 2007,2006
Contact Information:
Merck & Co., Inc.
1 Merck Drive
Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889
908-423-1000
In Practice
6: Evaluate Progress
6.1: Measure Results
Discovering Hidden Benefits of Energy Management
Gathering data on the progress and value of their global energy program identified unexpected results for Merck's Energy Team. Regularly reviewing data on energy demand allowed Merck's Energy Reduction Initiative Team (MERIT) to see how efforts to reduce energy usage indirectly lowered demand on heating & cooling infrastructure.
The corresponding result of the reduction in energy demand was the elimination or postponement of large scale additional capital investment that would have otherwise been needed for higher-capacity equipment. Merck's total capital avoidance from the date of their program's inception totaled in excess of $26 million. Together with their Corporate Finance department, the Team was able to demonstrate the resulting cost savings to senior management and make the case that improvements in facility energy use need to be made on a continuing basis.
Because of these benchmarking results, the Team was able to secure two special financial allocations from management for energy-related projects. These allocations, totaling over $12 million, were rewarded for projects in 2004 and 2005, and have a payback period of less than 3 years. Not having to compete with other core business projects enabled more energy projects to go forward - a best practice the Merck Energy Team hopes to continue.
6.2: Review Action Plan
Re-assessing Strategies for Greater Impact
Energy management at Merck and Company has continued to evolve to better serve the needs of program personnel and the company. In 2000, facility-based staff created the Merck Energy Reduction Initiative Team (MERIT) to increase information sharing and leveraging of resources beyond what could be done at the individual facility level. Senior executives took notice of the substantial results of MERIT and in 2005 decided to increase their support of the program with the formation of Merck's new Global Energy Team (GET).
As part of this transition, three senior managers sponsored the new GET program to lead a new corporate energy management process by strategically aligning supply and demand operations and re-engineering energy management. The newly formed GET was assigned four main goals: to take a good energy program and make it even better; to gain higher management support; to account for rising energy costs; and to integrate their team with energy supply side management. This has taken energy from an initiative to a higher level where energy is integrated into the strategic goals of the corporation.
The GET program built upon the MERIT program by providing greater visibility of the team's efforts. In doing so employee awareness was increased and the supply side was empowered to initiate a global invoice management system that allowed for better tracking of energy usage and spending. This has provided the ability to align what is being used with what is being purchased.
