Whirlpool
At a Glance
Industry
Consumer Packaged Goods
Project Types
Goals/Targets, Supply Chain, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2020
Location
Benton Harbor, MI
Summary
Emily Mehlhop identified indirect greenhouse gas emissions and expanded opportunities to manage and reduce emissions along Whirlpool Corporation’s value chain.
Goals
Whirlpool Corporation, a global leader in major home appliance manufacturing, had their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals approved in 2019 by the Science Based Target Initiative, which calls for goals that align with the contributions necessary to meet or exceed the Paris Climate Accord. In an effort to go beyond these requirements and further understand both their climate impacts and potential risk, Whirlpool Corporation enlisted Climate Corps Fellow Emily Mehlhop to quantify and analyze additional categories of indirect (Scope 3) emissions.
Solutions
By utilizing emission screening results to determine the highest impact categories, Mehlhop was able to maximize the emissions quantified in her 10-week fellowship. Using GHG Protocol Methodology, she interacted with multiple internal teams to extract data and accumulate relevant external research in order to perform calculations and integrate results at a global scale. Mehlhop was then able to evaluate these impacts along the business value chain to determine the appropriate next steps for Whirlpool Corporation to continue to improve their methodology and drive effective emission reductions.
Impact
Though her fellowship transitioned to a virtual experience as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, Mehlhop was still able to engage with the necessary stakeholders in order to implement the GHG Protocol Methodology and identify potential improvements for five main Scope 3 emission categories. As a result, Whirlpool Corporation can focus their time and resources on reduction opportunities in the most substantive emission categories and drive progress as a global leader in corporate sustainability.