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April 16, 2025
Innovating for Impact: Decarbonization is Smart Business Strategy for EnerSys
A collaborative emissions reduction and electrification program helps EnerSys cut fossil fuels, save on energy costs and realize strategic benefits.
We’re helping solve our customers’ big challenges by innovating and delivering solutions that are better for their business and for the environment. Through our Gigaton Challenge, we aim to reduce 1 gigaton of GHG emissions from our customers’ footprints by 2030.
Project At-a-Glance:
The opportunity:
- Drive emissions reductions and increase electrification across the entire EnerSys facilities portfolio
- Eliminate Scope 1 emissions company-wide by 2040
- Significantly reduce facility energy costs while optimizing operations
The solution:
- A customized enterprise-wide decarbonization program focused on electrification
- Planned energy optimization upgrades at EnerSys Warrensburg, Mo., Richmond, Ky., and Reading, Penn.
Sustainability outcomes:
- 2,000+ mtCO2e operational emissions reductions
EnerSys is a leading battery manufacturer for industrial applications with a global manufacturing footprint. The proven reliability and durability of EnerSys' solutions have made the company a trusted provider of clean energy storage, increasingly essential for manufacturers worldwide. This has also made EnerSys a critical player in the global effort to reduce emissions.
A leader in sustainable business
Driven by a commitment to building a more sustainable future, EnerSys launched an ambitious initiative to achieve company-wide Scope 1 carbon neutrality by 2040. This goal was motivated by multiple factors, including the desire to improve operational efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of its manufacturing and distribution processes, particularly given that EnerSys' products and services are critical to the low-carbon transition. To accomplish this, they collaborated with Trane to create a comprehensive decarbonization program, which was ultimately recognized with an Environment + Energy Leader Award for Energy Innovation.
Key members of the project team included Christina Sivulka, EnerSys Global Sustainability Senior Manager; Sam Shiroff, EnerSys Senior Director of Global Sustainability; and Trevor Joelson, Trane Energy & Decarbonization Services Account Executive.
"We focused on Scope 1 emissions because we understand that electrification is a key to decarbonization," said Shiroff. "The batteries we make can also play a key role in decarbonizing electricity by increasing the amount of renewable energy that can be used."
Expanding electrification
The two companies began the collaborative program with a strong goal: to reduce fossil fuel emissions and expand electrification across the EnerSys facilities portfolio. The project began with a thorough evaluation of all EnerSys facilities and operations. The results of that evaluation were then used to gauge the company’s overall fossil fuel use, identify immediate opportunities for reducing fossil fuel consumption, and create a roadmap for the company’s transition to alternative energy sources.
"Some of the critical value Trane brought to EnerSys in the early phases of the project was helping to identify and prioritize opportunities with the highest ROI from both a financial and a carbon reduction perspective," said Trevor Joelson, Energy & Decarbonization Services Account Executive at Trane. “Trane's biggest advantage in this regard is our platform."
The Trane platform consists of a centralized group of resources created specifically to help support customers through every phase of their decarbonization journey. Those resources are combined according to the individual customer's need into unique programs made up of several mission-aligned solutions, each of which is delivered on the customer’s timetable.
"The best part for the customer," said Joelson, "is that program design and advisory phases come at zero cost, making it an easy first step."
Some of the critical value Trane brought to EnerSys in the early phases of the project was helping to identify and prioritize opportunities with the highest ROI from both a financial and a carbon reduction perspective. Trane's biggest advantage in this regard is our platform.
Trevor Joelson
Energy & Decarbonization Services Account Executive, Trane
Incorporating digital enablement
That advisory phase led to a multi-step equipment electrification program that kicked off in 2023 with an automation and controls upgrade at the EnerSys battery manufacturing plant in Warrensburg, Missouri. The upgrade resulted in an operational emissions reduction of over 2,000 mtCO2e, and approximately $240,000 in annual energy savings.
The upgrades have yielded dramatic emissions reductions overall. In the process, EnerSys has also realized significant cost savings. For example, by collaborating with local utility providers for the Warrensburg controls project, EnerSys realized an estimated $300,000 in rebates, which helped pay for the implementation.
The benefits of the upgrades don't stop there, however. The facility improvements EnerSys has made are also paying off in the form of optimized production, increased safety and improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ).
What’s next
The Warrensburg upgrade will be followed by a boiler, compressed air, and domestic hot water upgrade at the EnerSys plant in Richmond, Kentucky, and a comprehensive energy optimization initiative at EnerSys headquarters in Reading, Pennsylvania. In coming years, more facility upgrades are expected to help the company realize both Scope 2 neutrality and a full clean energy transition by 2050.
The initiative has also helped cement the position of EnerSys as a climate technology innovator. Among the recognition the company has received is a 2025 WISE (Women in Smart Energy) Award, which was given to EnerSys Global Sustainability Senior Manager Christina Sivulka at the Smart Energy Decisions (SED) Neto Zero Forum in April.
"We're proving that sustainability isn't a trade-off, but rather a strategic advantage and a smart business strategy," said Sivulka. "By prioritizing our carbon reduction goals, we're unlocking a world of previously unseen efficiencies and savings, confirming that sustainability isn't just a commitment, but a catalyst for innovation and growth."
"We expect this engagement to be a model for other long-term decarbonization programs," said Joelson. “More and more manufacturers are realizing that if they want to reach their net-zero goals by 2040 or 2050, they had better start now. The electrified, low-carbon, sustainable future isn’t coming someday, it's here now. Trane can help turn their decarbonization commitments into reality.”
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