Mercury sustainability: Queensland office goes solar

Mercury Queensland's new 40kW solar system © Mercury Marine

Mercury Marine has underlined its global commitment to sustainability with its first large-scale solar installation across its Australia/New Zealand operations.

The new 40kW system was turned on in September at the company's Gold Coast offices which serve as a warehouse and distribution centre for Mercury's Queensland operations and incorporates a sales centre and workshop for the servicing of engines.

The system is projected to generate almost 63,000 kilowatt hours of power per year, saving thousands of dollars and preventing over 50 tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere annually.

"The Queensland office has been a really good pilot program to measure the return on investment and the reduction in carbon emissions," said Andrew McLean Senior Director of Supply Chain APAC at Mercury Marine.

"We are already starting to save money on our electricity bills in the couple months since we installed the system and we know it's making a difference to our environmental footprint," Andrew said.

"There will still be some need for electricity from the grid, but solar is now providing the majority of what we need to run this 2500m2 facility which is very pleasing."

Part of a global initiative throughout Mercury Marine and holding company Brunswick Corporation, the organisation has put a major focus on sustainability, green energy and heading towards zero waste.

And this is just the start for Mercury's local operations. "Our plan is to have all our Mercury facilities in Australia powered by solar, so this first pilot program has been a critical proof of concept and we're now actively looking at other areas of our network," Andrew said.

The move is in line with Mercury Marine's stated commitment to meeting its fiscal responsibilities while developing and manufacturing products in a manner that is safe, environmentally responsible, protective of the earth's natural resources and conducive to improved quality of life for all its stakeholders.

Mercury adopts four pillars of sustainability - energy, environment, product and people - with clearly defined goals of how they plan to transition into a more sustainable conscious organisation globally.

This includes a number of 2025 targets such as:

• Reduce energy consumption by 25%;
• Reduce outboard emissions by 80 percent and sterndrive emissions by 70 percent in comparison to 2005 levels;
• Designate 50 percent of global distribution centres and warehouse operations as zero waste to landfill facilities; and
• Reduce water consumption by 25% in comparison to 2016 baseline.

The company has also set an ambitious goal to derive 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

The Mercury Marine Sustainability Report can be viewed here.