Medline Helps Cook County Go Green with New Solar Panel Installation

Newly installed solar panels on the rooftop of Medline’s 680,000 square-foot headquarters in Northfield, Illinois are now generating approximately 3 megawatts hours of clean, renewable energy per day on average, and is expected to produce 1,160,494 kilowatt hours annually.

The 2,754 solar panel installation completed in February will produce clean power with annual environmental benefits equivalent to avoiding carbon dioxide emissions by 2.2 million pounds, planting 26,327 trees or saving 114,311 gallons of gasoline.

Through the solar system, which is one of the largest solar rooftop projects in the most populous county in the state, Medline is supporting a greener grid by supplying the local utility with solar energy generated onsite at its headquarters.

Growing solar energy portfolio

The installation in Northfield is the latest in Medline’s ever-expanding solar energy portfolio. In addition to Northfield, Medline has installed large-scale rooftop solar panels  in six other locations: Rialto and Tracy, California; Auburndale, Florida; Aisai, Japan; Kleve, Germany; and Sydney, Australia.

Collectively, Medline’s solar portfolio now consists of more than 16,259 solar panels that occupy nearly 1.2 million square feet of space, with an overall capacity to produce 8 megawatts of solar power annually.

Being a steward of the environment

“To care for our planet’s health, we need to look at sustainability beyond the present,” said Medline Associate Sustainability Specialist Hannah Anderson. “At Medline, we are investing long-term in renewable energy and in managing energy more efficiently throughout our operations.”

In addition to solar, the company has three facilities that use geothermal power. Many of the company’s buildings are also constructed with sustainability in mind. More than 15.1 million square feet (92%) of Medline’s owned distribution space is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, and going forward, the company plans for all its new buildings  to be constructed to LEED standards.

The company is also helping its own customers be more sustainable by reducing waste through Medline ReNewal, a program that reprocesses medical devices so they can safely be reused. Since 2014, Medline Renewal has diverted over 3 million pounds of devices from landfills.

Learn more about Medline’s sustainability initiatives.