The EPA has recognized Nissan with three new Energy Star awards, including the 2013 Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence Award, the highest honor for energy efficiency.
Since becoming an Energy Star partner in 2006, Nissan has saved more than 800 billion BTUs of the energy used to assemble vehicles, says the company.
In addition to the Sustained Excellence Award, Nissan's powertrain plant in Decherd, Tenn., recently achieved the Energy Star Challenge for Industry recognition for reducing the amount of energy needed to assemble engines by 7 percent in 12 months by investing in more efficient equipment and establishing a compressed air leak reduction program.
Nissan's vehicle assembly plants in Smyrna, Tenn., and Canton, Miss., were recently awarded the Energy Star certification for the seventh consecutive year, signifying Nissan's spot among the top 25 percent of the automotive manufacturing industry for superior energy management.
Nissan implemented a program at the Canton plant to identify and repair air leaks, and at the Smyrna plant, the company uses a wet paint process that applies all three paint layers in succession, before the vehicle goes into the oven. Previous processes required the vehicle to bake in between the primer application and the topcoat layers. The new technology reduces energy consumption, cost and emissions while increasing production efficiency.
