While millions of people around the world recognised the fourth annual Earth Hour this past Saturday by customarily turning off lights and appliances in their homes and businesses for an hour, Roanoke Cement Company (RCC) quietly switched off lighting on its pre-heater tower, a 400-foot signpost to the plant campus, indefinitely.

Lowering the illumination footprint is part of Titan America’s (RCC’s parent company) aggressive goals to reduce energy consumption and coincides with its partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy’s Energy Star® Program initiative. For more than a decade, the EPA has worked with businesses and organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through strategic energy management practices.

To qualify for the Energy Star®, a building or manufacturing plant must score in the top 25 per cent based on EPA’s National Energy Performance Rating System. Titan America has been recognized with Energy Star® Awards every year since 2007 -- consistently ranked as one of the top performing plants in the country -- and will continue to implement their plan to reduce energy intensity across all operations using strategies provided by the program. Because they have set a gold standard for cement manufacturers, the EPA has requested RCC to educate other facilities through the use of training sessions and energy audits.