Energy Excellence Awards reward energy efficiency projects at Novartis

December 8, 2006 - A prestigious ceremony rewarded nominees of the Novartis Energy Excellence Awards at an event in Basel on December 7. Created to give recognition to and reward projects and initiatives that encourage energy efficiency and implement renewable or alternative energy technologies at Novartis, the Energy Excellence Awards play a strategic role in helping our company meet its commitments to energy and carbon dioxide emission reductions in line with the United Nations Kyoto Protocol. The event brought together the winning teams from Europe and Asia that were judged by internal and external panel members to have the best energy efficiency projects in place.

A total of 32 projects were submitted by Novartis associates worldwide. Altogether, the 32 projects have the potential to result in net savings of more than USD 50 million over the next five years. Key criteria considered by the judging panel included supporting business growth objectives while reducing CO2 emissions, minimizing energy costs and utilizing renewable energy sources.

The Renewable Energy Award was granted to Sandoz in Frankfurt, Germany, for creating renewable energy from production process waste. The site has cut costs on power generation and waste disposal as well as reduced its current greenhouse gas emissions by 4%.

The Plant Energy Saving Program, implemented by Sandoz in Kundl, Austria, received the Behavior-based Energy Efficiency Award. The project demonstrates that the combination of good energy management, sound engineering practices and behavioral change can yield significant energy efficiency improvements with very little capital investment.

An Energy Efficiency Improvement Program by the Animal Health Wusi Plant in Shanghai, China, received the award for the Most Successful Site Energy Excellence program. The three-year project has overhauled the plant's utilities, replacing boilers, chillers and air compressors with new, energy-efficient technology, resulting in resource efficiency and emission reduction.

The Energy Excellence Innovation Award was given to the Energy Minimized/Carbon Source Optimized (EMCO) Process implemented by Sandoz in Kundl. The project focus was resource efficiency in penicillin production, a large-scale process at the plant, and this efficiency has shown clear business benefits.