Energy Performance

Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge partners strive to decrease portfolio-wide source energy use intensity (EUI), and to increase the percent improvement compared to a set baseline. Volvo's portfolio consists of 8 plants as of 2015. Volvo's energy management program emphasizes innovative technology solutions, replication of best practices and non-production shutdowns. With an energy intensity improvement of 8% in just one year with respect to its baseline year of 2014, Volvo Group is off to a fast start toward its 25% reduction in energy intensity target in 10 years. This is Volvo's second energy efficiency target with the Better Plants Challenge; it met its previous 25% target last year. 

Looking at the percent improvement in energy performance across all facilities can provide insight into how an organization is saving energy. Eight out of eight plants have experienced energy intensity reductions in 2015. Over 60% of Volvo's facilities participating in the Challenge have improved energy performance by >10% since the baseline year of 2014. A number of actions taken by Volvo at the facility level since 2014 have contributed to its overall energy efficiency improvement, including: lighting upgrades, infrared heating systems, building automation system measures, skylights, occupancy and daylight sensors and high volume, low speed fans. More recently, Volvo Group facilities have begun conducting Energy Treasure Hunts to identify low cost/no cost operational and behavioral energy savings opportunities

Volvo produces different products and, therefore,uses different metrics to calculate plant-level energy intensity. Depending on the plant, Volvo calculates energy intensity in terms of source energy consumed (in MMBtus) divided by number of vehicles, number of engines, or power train components produced. The percent change in energy intensity is tracked for each facility on both a monthly and annual basis. Volvo normalizes its plant-level numbers to account for changes in production volume and heating and cooling degree days. These metrics are rolled up to the corporate level, with a corporate-wide percent improvement in energy intensity calculated by taking a weighted average of the percent change in energy intensity at the individual facilities.