As a business, we are committed to building on our sustainability efforts across our global business operations. This past year, we were proud to have completed our third annual Benchmark Environmental Challenge, cultivating and harnessing the enthusiasm of our team to achieve significant improvements in our global environmental impact.
The Benchmark Environmental Challenge
The annual Benchmark Environmental Challenge is a global competition among our manufacturing sites aimed at reducing energy consumption, waste, and water usage while encouraging sustainable resource management.
This program aligns with our new purpose statement: “We innovate for a healthier, safer, and better-connected world to create a brighter future.” With our public commitment to reducing our absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 15% by 2025 from a 2021 base year, the Benchmark Environmental Challenge is crucial in helping us achieve this goal.
The program offers numerous advantages to Benchmark, its employees, and the local communities where our facilities are located, including:
- Reducing utilities usage: minimizing energy, waste, and water consumption at Benchmark sites globally
- Promoting ESG/Sustainability: enhancing employee engagement in sustainability initiatives across Benchmark
- Acknowledging efforts: recognizing and celebrating site and employee contributions to sustainability
- Measuring success: providing clear indicators of sustainability achievements
Results of the 2024 Benchmark Environmental Challenge
This year, the program saw more site participation than ever before, engaging over 7,000 employees. The overall benefits of the challenge included significant reductions in utilities usage, enhanced employee engagement in sustainability efforts, and recognition of outstanding site projects as mentioned in our annual 2024 Sustainability Report.
From May to December 2024, each site participating in the challenge used measurable indicators to showcase the impact of their environmental projects. These were evaluated by Benchmark’s ESG/Sustainability Council and our ESG/Sustainability Steering Committee, with the winners announced and recognized at the company’s Ignite Conference in March 2025. The participating sites in the 2024 Challenge achieved the following impressive milestones:
- Electricity usage: reduced by 4%
- Water usage: reduced by 3%
These results were made possible by creative efforts at the individual, team, and management levels. Participants employed innovative approaches to achieve these results, including:
- On-site solar generation: portions of electricity demand were met through on-site solar installations
- Refrigerant reuse optimization: thousands of kilograms of refrigerant were reused, avoiding millions of kilograms of CO2 emissions
- HVAC improvements: implementing soft-starters and upgrading vacuum pumps
- Electric grid optimization: using capacitor banks to improve power factor
- Equipment consolidation: reducing the total number of compressors needed
- Energy efficiency improvements: turning off equipment between shifts and upgrading to LED lighting
Winners
Although all manufacturing sites made significant progress towards Benchmark’s sustainability goals, three sites excelled by presenting innovative and actionable ideas that effectively reduced energy consumption, waste, and water usage. The winners of the 2024 Benchmark Environmental Challenge, listed below, were chosen based on their total environmental impact reduction and cost savings:
- Suzhou - First Place
- Korat - Second Place
- Guadalajara - Third Place
Benchmark is excited to recognize these sites for their outstanding efforts in the Environmental Challenge. They stand out as great examples of what can be achieved through creativity and collaboration. Their efforts create a positive impact on the company's culture of sustainability and set an example of what can be accomplished.
Looking Ahead
The success of the 2024 Benchmark Environmental Challenge will influence this year's initiatives, with successful approaches being adopted and spread across our manufacturing sites. As Benchmark grows, we remain committed to achieving our goal of reducing our absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 15% by 2025 from a 2021 base year.
The 2024 Environmental Challenge has demonstrated Benchmark's unwavering commitment to sustainability. With grassroots employee ideas and significant leadership involvement, we are confident in our ability to continue making meaningful progress towards a brighter, more sustainable future.
