MilliporeSigma is a life science company and leading supplier of a diverse range of products and services for research, biotechnology production and pharmaceutical drug development. Operating globally with eight local facilities, including their St. Louis headquarters in Midtown, MilliporeSigma provides methodical, needle-moving solutions that enable customers and scientists to accelerate access to health for people everywhere – all while reducing the environmental footprint of science. This month, the Clean Air Partnership is pleased to spotlight MilliporeSigma’s focus on greener products and solutions, sustainable operations, and employee and community engagement making a big impact in the region.
“MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt Germany, is highly committed to global sustainability,” said Emily Becker, CSP Head of Environmental, Health, Safety & Security for the St. Louis Hub. “We focus our efforts on areas where we can have the greatest impact. In St. Louis, we continue to challenge ourselves to think greener, innovate, and upgrade processes and programs. Through this mindset, we’ve reduced water usage by 30% and landfill waste by over 50% over the past few years. We are incredibly proud of the progress and excited to make an even greater impact with our upcoming initiatives.”
As a participant in the 2023 St. Louis Green Business Challenge at the Leader Level, MilliporeSigma completed numerous water savings projects, including removing single-pass chilled water and installing cleaning sprayers and level sensors and controllers, resulting in over 13M gallons of water savings per year. The company also installed a spray-ball tank cleaning system that reduces water use by 87% each cleaning cycle, ultimately resulting in water savings of an added 1.9M gallons per year.
Additional eco-friendly innovations included the creation of a process cooling loop reusing pH pit water to replace once-through city water, resulting in water savings of more than 7M gallons per year, as well as diverting all general trash (over 850 metric tons annually) from the landfill to a waste-to-energy facility. This not only helps to reduce emissions, but also largely benefits the region’s air quality!
Moreover, MilliporeSigma has implemented several sustainable upgrades to company property, including food composting and reusable dishes in the main cafeteria and the installation of 38 new electric vehicle charging stations across all locations. They also completed HVAC, VFD and LED upgrades throughout their facilities, resulting in over 1,100 MWh energy savings per year. Such advancements have allowed the company to match 100% of their purchased electricity with renewable energy.
For more information about MilliporeSigma and how your company can get involved in the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, subscribe to their bi-monthly E-Newsletter or visit stlouisgreenchallenge.com. For more on the link between sustainability and air quality, explore our website, like us on Facebook or follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @gatewaycleanair.
