Baxter's Toongabbie, Australia Facility Initiates Installation of Trigeneration Unit
DEERFIELD, Ill., April 2, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Baxter's Toongabbie, Australia manufacturing facility recently began installation of a trigeneration unit at the facility to improve energy efficiency while reducing total facility energy cost. Trigeneration is an industrial-scale process where a single fuel source is used to generate electricity and thermal energy for both heating and cooling. Trigeneration reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) related to electricity consumption, improves power reliability by protecting the facilities from manufacturing interruptions that may occur from local utility outages, and allows the facility to use the byproduct heat (thermal energy) from electricity generation for other plant operations, further reducing facility energy cost. Several other Baxter sites use cogeneration to generate electricity and thermal energy for heating, including facilities in Castlebar, Ireland; Istanbul, Turkey; Lessines, Belgium; and Sabiñánigo, Spain.
Baxter estimates that the trigeneration unit will reduce electricity-related GHG emissions 38 percent annually and expects system completion by year end 2013. The facility received a $2.2 million clean energy grant from the Australian Government's Clean Technology Investment Program as incentive for investing in cleaner energy. Baxter's Toongabbie headquarters has also incorporated environmental features such as double glazing windows to reduce heat load, placement of 150 solar panels on the roof for electricity and reuse of rainwater for toilet use.
About Baxter
Baxter's commitment to sustainability spans more than three decades. The company is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and has been recognized by Corporate Responsibility magazine as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens and Newsweek's Green Rankings as the leading U.S. healthcare company. Baxter is a member of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, and the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association. The company endorses the Ceres principles and is an Organizational Stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative. Further information about Baxter's sustainability activities can be found at www.sustainability.baxter.com.
Baxter International Inc. (NSE: BAX), through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. As a global, diversified healthcare company, Baxter applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to create products that advance patient care worldwide.
