The American Bakers Association (ABA) and the U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized the 18 most energy efficient commercial bread and roll bakeries in the nation. These distinguished ENERGY STAR Certified Commercial Bakeries met the strict energy performance levels set by the EPA.

“Today, ABA congratulates the first of our members to be recognized as ENERGY STAR certified,” said Robb MacKie, ABA President and CEO. “Their plants are in the top quartile of energy performance, and we commend them for their tremendous leadership in this area for the baking industry.”

By being more efficient than average performing plants, these bakeries prevented more than 35,294 metric tons (CO2e) of greenhouse gas emissions and saved more than 686,000 MMBtus in energy – equal to the average annual energy use of more than 3,650 households.  

“Improving the energy efficiency of our nation’s industrial facilities is critical to protecting our environment,” said Jean Lupinacci, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch. “From the plant floor to the board room, organizations are leading the way by making their facilities more efficient and earning EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification.”

“ABA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. EPA to promote increased energy efficiency for the baking industry through the Agency’s ENERGY STAR program,” said Rasma Zvaners, ABA Policy Director. “Our goal was to collaborate and provide valuable energy management tools to help promote increased energy efficiency among the U.S. baking industry. We are delighted with the success to date and look forward to our continued productive partnership efforts.”

To earn ENERGY STAR Certification, bakeries demonstrated a top level of energy efficiency by scoring a 75 or higher on the ENERGY STAR Commercial Bread and Roll Bakeries Energy Performance Indicator (EPI), a tool that compares an individual bakery’s energy performance to the rest of the industry.

The following plants were recognized: Automatic Rolls of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD; Bama Frozen Dough, Tulsa, OK; Bama Pie, Tulsa, OK; Bimbo Bakeries Oconomowoc, Milwaukee, WI; Bimbo Bakeries Escondido, San Diego, CA; Bimbo Bakeries Gastonia, Charlotte, NC; Bimbo Bakeries Olean, Olean, NY; Bimbo Bakeries Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ; Bimbo Bakeries Reading, Reading, PA; Bimbo Bakeries San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, CA; Flowers Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, LA; Flowers El Paso, El Paso, TX; Flowers Lynchburg, Lynchburg, VA; Flowers New Orleans, New Orleans, LA; Flowers Modesto, Modesto, CA; Flowers Norfolk, Norfolk, VA; Flowers Tolleson, Tolleson, AZ; Klosterman Bakery, Morristown, IN.

ABA is offering a follow-up dialogue with baking companies at IBIE 2016 – Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Savings Opportunities for Baking – for ENERGY STAR Challenge achievers to share their successes and hurdles throughout the challenge and certification process.

Any bread and roll bakery that produces more than eight million pounds of raw dough a year can benchmark their energy performance using the EPI to see if they qualify for ENERGY STAR Certification. For more information: http://www.energystar.gov/plant