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October 21, 2026
Innovating for Impact: Decarbonization is Smart Business Strategy for EnerSys
A collaborative Scope 1 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
- Energy optimization upgrades at EnerSys Warrensburg, Mo., Richmond, Ky., and Reading, Penn.
- A $20M Green Revolving Fund to finance ongoing energy efficiency improvements
Sustainability outcomes:
- 1900+ mtCO2e operational emissions reductions
- Approximately $250,000 in annual energy savings at Warrensburg, Mo.
- Approximately $490,000 in grant funding secured for the Horsham, Pa., initiative
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. Scope 1 emissions are greenhouse gases that are emitted by sources that a company owns or controls directly. The goal of reducing Scope 1 emissions 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, the company collaborated with Trane® to create a comprehensive decarbonization program, which was ultimately recognized with the 2025 Environment+Energy Leader Top Project Award in Energy Innovation for their collaborative decarbonization program.
A lot of our products help our customers become more sustainable. We wanted to use that as a unique selling proposition. We actually already had a very long relationship with Trane and Trane Technologies, whether it was HVAC or other types of equipment. In fact, we supply Trane with some of our batteries. So, it was a really good starting point and it went from there. We've helped Trane Technologies on their own decarbonization and energy efficiency journey, and we're able to then take that to other large industrial customers. And in this case, it was Enersys. They have put together a roadmap for how they're going to achieve carbon neutrality around their scope one emissions, as well as ultimately getting to carbon neutrality around all their emission scopes. Our sustainability team at EnerSys is small but mighty. So that's where Trane really adds value to the EnerSys sustainability program. They were able to take a look at our facilities with a fresh set of eyes and a different background and technical expertise and able to help us find additional emissions reductions and energy efficiency gains. This program has demonstrated the ability to challenge what's possible and actually deliver that for our customers. I think there's a perception that sustainability is something that can hold companies back in terms of their ability to maximize profit and very cost effective in how they operate. And I think what we're seeing with the EnerSys program is that actually those two things go hand in hand. Working together in the way that EnerSys and Trane Technologies works together has unambiguously shown that there can be mutually beneficial, ongoing and long-term benefits considered a win-win and want to continue and expand.
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."
To help EnerSys advance the roadmap, the upgrades are backed by a $20M Green Revolving Fund that finances energy efficiency improvements to lower operating costs and reduce emissions. The resulting savings replenish the fund for the next round of upgrades, creating a sustainable funding cycle. EnerSys has also established a formal Climate Action Committee to drive implementation across the organization.
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 1,900 mtCO2e, and approximately $250,000 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 captured utility 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). The Warrensburg upgrades also earned a U.S. Department of Energy Better Plants Award.
What’s next
Following the Warrensburg upgrade, the work expanded to boiler, compressed air and domestic hot water upgrades 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 collaboration now extends to additional sites, including controls, lighting and air compressor upgrades at two plants in Springfield, Missouri; lighting and air compressor optimization at Warrensburg; and a combined controls, lighting, heat pump and air compressor upgrade in Horsham, Pennsylvania. The Horsham initiative is projected to deliver more than $45,000 in annual energy savings, and Trane helped secure approximately $490,000 in Pennsylvania grant funding to support it.
The initiative has also helped cement the position of EnerSys as a climate technology innovator. "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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