The Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) Detroit refinery earned the opportunity to host an ENERGY STAR® Industrial Showcase in August to celebrate its achievements in energy management practices recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Detroit city leaders and community advocates, Michigan State Representative Tyrone Carter, and EPA representative Betsy Dutrow attended the event. Dutrow serves as the Manager of ENERGY STAR Partnerships.
This refinery is performing within the top energy quartile nationally within its size class. That is a grand achievement.
“Our goal with ENERGY STAR is to help companies save money, but also protect the environment,” said Dutrow. “You are unique. Of 129 oil refineries in this country, only 18 have ever earned ENERGY STAR Certification. What it also means is that this refinery is performing within the top energy quartile nationally within its size class. That is a grand achievement.”
In 2022, MPC set a refining industry record when six of its refineries, including the Detroit refinery, received the ENERGY STAR certification. It was the Detroit refinery’s seventh time to achieve this recognition.
“The team at the Detroit refinery has done an outstanding job, and it is embedded in how they do work,” said Ruth Cade, MPC’s Refining Environmental Director. “Sustainability is embedded in their culture, and it is embedded in their practices. They are really living those values every day. This is a celebration for all of the hard work that they have done.”
A primary factor behind MPC’s energy efficiency for more than a decade has been its Focus on Energy program, which establishes key performance indicators to guide energy management across sites.
“At the Detroit refinery, we are proud of our efforts to conserve energy, reduce emissions and reclaim water, as well as our employees who make it happen,” said John Stefko, Detroit refinery General Manager. “It’s their ideas and innovations that keep us on the cutting edge. However, it is the relationships we have built with our local community members as a result of these efforts that make us feel very special.”