Roche Colorado Corporation
Beginning in 2008, the Roche Colorado Corporation (Roche) intends to reduce the total amount of energy used to meet the lab, office, and manufacturing cooling requirements on site at its 235,935 sq. ft. industrial facility. A retrofitted facility built in 1972; the building contains 30,350 sq. ft. of lab space and consumes 26,534,000 kWh of electricity and 161,700 CCF of natural gas per year. In addition to reducing energy usage, Roche will also eliminate Freon-based cooling (CFCs and HCFCs). The goal for the facility is to remove all CFC-based cooling by 2009 and all HCFC cooling by 2015. Roche will rely on the Labs21 Team to provide guidance during this transition.
Roche's goals are to reduce the facility's energy needs, recover energy which is currently lost (e.g. heat/cooling recovery of exhaust streams), and utilize more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly alternatives. The company is currently in a study phase to determine a project scope which will be used for the site to accomplish these goals. To finalize the scope, Roche intends to research all the non-Freon based options available. Regardless of the source(s) of cooling ultimately selected, Roche plans to reduce the total site cooling demand as a preliminary step. This will lead to a reduced generation need, which will allow for a reduction in total energy required to generate the necessary cooling for the site. As part of this energy reduction process, Roche will determine and clearly define the actual temperature needs for the labs and office spaces, a process that will highlight opportunities to reduce the site’s cooling loads.
To meet its two deadlines, the elimination of CFCs by 2009 and HCFCs by 2015, Roche first developed a strategy to reduce the site's cooling need and recover more energy so that the final cooling needs, regardless of alternatives selected, will be less than the current cooling capacity of the site. Secondly, Roche will employ a multi-tiered, prioritized strategy to reduce its cooling needs.
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Comprised of 250 employees, Roche Colorado Corporation specializes in peptide production and relies on its facility for process development, analytical support, and product development. Roche's diagnostics and pharmaceuticals businesses in the U.S., including Roche Colorado, employ some 20,000 people and generate close to $10 billion in sales, accounting for about one-third of the Roche Group's global annual revenues. As part of its commitment toward sustainable development, the Roche Group proactively seeks to employ new, more sustainable technologies and processes and to minimize its impact on the environment. The efforts of Roche Colorado to reduce its energy use contribute to this goal. For more information please visit Roche Colorado's website. 
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