2023-2024 Annual Report

A Message from Lissa McCracken, KPPC’s Executive Director

Image
Lissa McCracken

Fiscal year 2023-2024 was a year of continued success and positive growth as KPPC has strengthened our engineering team and increased our client impact. On behalf of the KPPC Board of Directors, I am encouraged to present this annual report, which represents, to Kentucky’s Governor, General Assembly, business and industry, environmental organizations and the community-at-large, the impact that KPPC is having in the Commonwealth which has promoted economic success and responsible environmental stewardship in Kentucky.

As a nationally recognized Center of Excellence, KPPC is dedicated to offering its services and expertise to Kentucky business and industry to enhance their economic success while reducing environmental impact throughout Kentucky. Throughout this fiscal year, KPPC continued to enhance client success through our engineering team. This report outlines the successful programs and services that demonstrates the value KPPC is providing in Kentucky.

During this fiscal year, KPPC continued our initiative, sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to assist automotive suppliers and the distillery manufacturers. This work includes energy efficiency assistance, determination of energy/water use ratios, and the development of sustainable value stream maps (Sus-VSM), overlaying energy and water use throughout our client’s processes. For the second consecutive year, KPPC participated in and presented our work with distilleries at the 2024 James B. Beam Institute Industry Conference. KPPC continued to coordinate assessments, including those for automotive suppliers, in support of the University of Louisville Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ULITAC), sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE).

Partners are critical to our success and provide added value to our clients. We appreciate the support of all our partners, which include organizations at the local, State and national level that advance and promote sustainable growth for the Commonwealth.

This year we are very pleased to welcome Andrea Rock to the KPPC engineering team. Andrea brings years of experience in energy management and has truly been a wonderful addition. I would like to thank our entire staff, including our student engineers, for their dedicated efforts and the members of our Board of Directors whose efforts contribute so much to KPPC’s continued success.

KPPC's Core Services

KPPC provides Pollution Prevention (P2) and Energy Efficiency (E2) technical assistance, as well as renewable energy and sustainable manufacturing assistance in fulfilling its service mission. Core services are confidential, non-regulatory and provided at no cost to Kentucky business and industry.

KPPC engineers use a systematic approach to assist industrial, commercial and institutional clients as they develop and implement environmental management solutions. Through this approach, KPPC engineers have identified significant potential energy and cost savings, along with the associated reductions in GHG emissions. During the fiscal year KPPC focused primarily on the manufacturing sector.

Our Client Impact

23

Number of Clients

153

Number of Recommendations

Delivering Measurable Results

Leveraging KY State funds, a 12:1 financial return was identified for KY business & industry. For every dollar ($1) of State investment, twelve dollars ($12) of cost saving opportunities was identified A company investment is required for implementation with an average payback of 5.3 years.
$4.15 mil

$4,155,000 in Annual Cost Savings

27%

Average Annual Cost Savings

5.3 Years

Average Payback 

Energy and Emissions Reduction

23%

Average Annual Energy Reduction

20,305

Tons CO2e - Total Annual Emissions Reduction

Sustainability Initiatives

Outreach Events

KPPC participated in the following events:

  • Governor’s Conference on Energy and the Environment
    October 2023 – Lexington
  • Kentucky Association of Manufacturers Summit
    November 2023 – Bowling Green
  • J.B. Beam Institute Industry Conference
    March 2024 – Lexington
Student engineers, Lana Al Maliki & Caroline Dunlevy discuss the energy assessment with company personnel.

Budget – Leveraging Funds for Kentucky

With core funding from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet though the Hazardous Waste Management Fund, KPPC provides a wide range of environmental sustainability resources and services throughout the Commonwealth.

To enhance those services and better serve our clients, the Center leverages state funding by seeking additional grants and contracts from a variety of agencies.

Staff engineers Matthew Newcomer and Andrea Rock collect facility data along with student engineers Caroline Dunlevy and Dylan Pike

In fiscal year 2023-24, KPPC was awarded funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy, through the University of Louisville Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ULITAC). During the fiscal year and based on the timing of funds received, KPPC expended $218,925 in core funding and $405,465 from other funding sources to provide P2 technical assistance and outreach services as well as organizational and administrative support for the Center.

2023-2024 Funds Expended

Funding Source Amount
KY Department of Environmental Protection – Hazardous Waste Management Fund $218,925
UofL Speed School of Engineering – Higher Education Fund $22,253
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Pollution Prevention Grant $131,458
U.S Environmental Protection Agency – Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation $44,213
U.S Environmental Protection Agency – Source Reduction Assistance $94,793
U.S. Department of Energy – Industrial Assessment Center Program $112,748
Total Funds Expended $624,390

Since KPPC began in 1994, the Center has received over $10 million in core funding and additionally has leveraged more than $25 million from state and federal agencies through grants and appropriations.

Student Co-op Program

KPPC offers J.B. Speed School engineering students an opportunity to gain “real-world” experience in the rapidly growing field of environmental sustainability. As a co-op with KPPC, students primarily work with business and industrial clients, on sustainable solutions to environmental issues, including waste reduction, water conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy.

A co-op experience at KPPC includes activities such as performing sustainability assessments, conducting workshops and training sessions, developing web-based resources and more. During the fiscal year, University of Louisville student engineers Caroline Dunlevy, Dylan Pike, Lana Al Maliki, Churchill Davenport, Timesha Allen, Gopal Rai, Daniel Do, Nick Yamnitz, and Julia Bader gained valuable experience working with KPPC engineers and Speed School faculty.

Staff engineer Matthew Newcomer and student engineers Julia Bader, Nic Yamnitz, and Daniel Do man the KPPC booth at the James B. Beam Institute Industry Conference in Lexington, KY

2023-2024 Staff and Board

Staff

Lissa McCracken – Executive Director

Mark Toda – Sr Sustainability Engineer

Matthew Newcomer – Sustainability Engineer

Andrea Rock – Sr Sustainability Engineer

Staff

Board of Directors

Mr. Scott Kirkpatrick, Environmental Engineer

Mr. Larry Taylor, KY Energy and Environment Cabinet

Dr. Emmanuel Collins, Dean, J.B. Speed School of Engineering, UofL

Dr. Rudolph Buchheit, Dean, College of Engineering, UK

Ms. Emily Sayers, At-Large Public

Mr. Patrick Henderson, At Large Agricultural Producer

Mr. Steve Dale, Environmental Protection Community

Mayor Alex Carter, Nicholasville, KY

Board of Directors

KPPC, A Leader in P2

KPPC is a proud member of the following organizations.

National Pollution Prevention Roundtable

Board of Directors, EPA Region 4 Representative

Louisville Energy Alliance

Board of Directors

University of Louisville Sustainability Council

Member

Kentucky Excellence in Environmental Leadership (KY EXCEL) Program

Advocate Member

Mandate & Funding

Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 224.46-305 et. seq. established KPPC in 1994 to facilitate and promote the implementation of pollution prevention technologies and procedures by providing technical assistance to business and industry. KPPC has executed this mandate by assisting clients to effectively implement source reduction technologies and practices that result in reduced environmental impact and operating expenses, which contributes to preserving and strengthening industry in Kentucky.

Funding

Per the Kentucky Revised Statutes, the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet remits 20 percent of the funds received by the Hazardous Waste Management Fund to KPPC each fiscal year.

Utilizing this base funding, and leveraging these state resources to obtain federal grants, allows the Center to provide pollution prevention services in Kentucky.

More statutory information about KPPC’s…

Mandate is available at: KRS 224.46-320
Funding is available at: KRS 224.46-330
Board of Directors is available at: KRS 224.46-315