Eastman Kodak

Sector: Corporate

Employees:

> 56,000

Carbon Footprint:

> 2,860,000 metric tonnes CO₂e (2005)

TARGETS

> 15% reduction in energy use (indexed to production volume) by 2003 on a 1997 baseline
> 20% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2003 on a 1997 baseline

Achievements

> 17% reduction in CO₂e emissions between 1997 and 2005
> 18% reduction in energy use through manufacturing between 1997 and 2005
> 12% reduction in energy use 2002 - 2005

Benefits

> Saved approximately $10 million in energy costs
> Improved reputation in the community, with government officials, and other large corporations
> Recognition by US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Program - Corporate Commitment 2003 and Excellence in Energy Management Leadership

Low Carbon Solutions

Background

Founded in 1880 by George Eastman, Eastman Kodak Company is a world leader in traditional and digital photography. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Kodak had worldwide sales of $13.5 billion in 2004, and employs approximately 56,000 people worldwide. The company has major manufacturing facilities in 11 nations around the world including UK, France, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, China and India - and after the US, China is now Kodak’s second largest photographic sales marketplace.
The company’s largest and oldest facility is ‘Kodak Park’ in Rochester. With upward of 200 buildings, it is the largest industrial site in the northeastern United States, the third largest overall producer of reportable emissions and discharges in New York State, and produces two-thirds of the company’s greenhouse gas emissions.

As consumers switch to digital photography, the marketplace has become more competitive and it has become even more important for the company to reduce costs. One of the main strategies Kodak has undertaken to achieve this is through the implementation of lean manufacturing to reduce inventories, improve quality performance, and drive out waste. When applied to Kodak’s energy use, this process is called ‘Energy Kaizen’ and is based on a lean manufacturing system developed by Toyota.
The Energy Kaizens were first undertaken at Kodak in 1999. With the help of a facilitator, the process begins with an energy assessment to determine where the greatest energy waste is occurring. The assessment is completed internally using a cross functional team which is most familiar with the company’s manufacturing systems. This includes engineers, operators and mechanics who work together for the three to five days it takes to run the Energy Kaizen. “The team looks in detail at a particular process and tries to come up with innovative ways to restructure it so waste is minimised,” says George Weed, Manager, Kodak Park Energy Office. “The process is really satisfying because gains are achieved very quickly. At the end of the 3-5 days we actually see implementation and savings.”
Though each plant site sets aside money to manage their energy reduction programmes, the Energy Kaizen process has shown Kodak that it is possible to make improvements in a wide range of systems without being held hostage to large capital projects. “We have always had a tendency to think of energy conservation as something that requires lots of dollars, and the team at the Energy Office has cracked that mindset,” says Weed. “Energy conservation can be had with either no or very small capital investments.” In fact, the benefits of the Energy Kaizen have surpassed simply reducing costs - between 1999 and 2003 Kodak’s initiatives to reduce energy use have actually resulted in overall savings of $10 million.
Kodak’s work to improve energy efficiency has also been facilitated by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) which provides co-funding to companies to implement energy saving projects. This co-funding is provided through a tax on energy bills in New York State, and helps Kodak significantly reduce the cost of capital for implementing these projects.

In addition to using large amounts of energy, Kodak also produces a great deal of its power onsite. The company’s largest power production site is in Rochester, New York and is a combined cycle plant that produces steam using coal (75%), gas (20%), and oil (<5%). The steam is then put through a turbine to produce electricity, or is used for process steam heating, or cooling of facilities. “From a thermal efficiency perspective, this is far better than buying electricity and fuel from utilities,” says a representative from Kodak. At this site, the company can meet almost 100% of its energy needs in-house, though usually only 80% to 95% of power is produced at Kodak, with the rest being purchased.
Thus far Kodak has achieved 30% of its CO₂ reductions through fuel switching from coal to gas. In addition, the company has looked into developing renewable energy on its Rochester site.

Kodak’s view is that CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions reflect a waste, and that energy is a non-renewable resource that needs to be conserved as part of overall business efficiency.
To estimate its overall greenhouse gas emissions, Kodak began tracking emissions through a spreadsheet. By the late 1990s, the company had set worldwide goals for all of its sites worldwide, and in August 2004, Kodak joined the California Climate Action Registry in order to utilise its database for completing greenhouse gas emission inventories.
“Kodak chose the CARROT (Climate Action Registry Reporting Online Tool) because it is becoming the de-facto standard for collecting greenhouse gas information, and it has national and international credibility,” says Roy Wood, Kodak’s greenhouse gas inventory manager. “As well, the third party verification process and certification of emissions will help us get credit for early action if there are greenhouse gas regulations established the in US over time.”

In order to address Kodak’s ecological footprint, the company’s CEO Daniel A. Carp set ambitious worldwide targets to reduce emissions, improve utilisation of natural resources, and strengthen environmental management systems. Taking an active role in environmental issues within the company, Carp has chartered the company’s health, safety and environment (HSE) management council, the highest level executive group that deals with HSE issues.
The first set of company HSE goals ran from 1997 to 2003, and Kodak’s greenhouse gas specific targets included reducing energy use and CO₂ emissions. “Even though we fell short of our CO₂ reduction goal, we made major headway in terms of reducing energy use (19% reduction indexed to production),” says a representative from the company, “We also felt that it was good to set the target as it held our feet to the fire in terms of making continual improvement.” Based on these initial successes, Kodak’s senior management requested that a second set of five year goals be set to 2008.
To reinforce the goals, Kodak managers’ salaries are tied to manufacturing HSE performance metrics. In addition, Kodak communicates widely about its progress in meeting targets. In particular, energy use is tracked and publicised on a monthly basis as it is viewed as both an important environmental and business parameter.

Kodak Tower in Rochester, NY. Kodak has saved $10 million in energy costs.
With upward of 200 buildings, Kodak Park is the largest industrial site in the northeastern US, the third largest overall producer of reportable emissions and discharges in New York State, producing two-thirds of the company’s greenhouse gas emissions.