- Engines
- Gauges & Controls
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Service & Support
Storage & Maintenance
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Product Protection
Product Stewardship
2015 Goals
- Reduce outboard emissions by more than 70 percent (between 2005 and 2015)
- Transition from two-stroke to four-stroke technology
- Offer 3-Star emissions on a broader range of engines
- Promote more-sustainable products
- Reduce sterndrive emissions by 60 percent (between 2005 and 2015)
- Complete line of catalyzed engines
- Launch 25 products that increase fuel efficiency
- Create 25 products, each of which will increase fuel efficiency by at least 5 percent
- Implement a scorecard that ensures new products are more efficient than those they replace
Introduction
Mercury Marine is creating a line of products that enhances our environmental position and makes boating more enjoyable. We will continue to develop products that reduce emissions, improve fuel efficiency, are made from higher content of recycled materials and have a greater ability to be recycled.
Actions
- Continue investment in new product development
- Integrate a product impact scorecard that combines weighted averages in areas such as fuel efficiency, emissions, recycleability and composition of parts
- Implement a supplier sustainability scorecard
- Develop customer-focused product training that encourages fuel-efficient operation, low-impact refueling and proper disposal of waste
- Continue affiliation with universities to foster next generation of sustainability-knowledgeable engineers
- Continue cooperation with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and international agencies to promote responsible and progressive emissions technology and standards
Mercury Outboard U.S. Sales and Power Weighted Emissions
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Mercury Sterndrive U.S. Sales and Power Weighted Emissions
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Achievements
Product Stewardship
- Mercury is developing low permeation fuel-system components (in compliance with EPA) that help reduce evaporative emissions.
- Mercury continues to refine its FourStroke outboard product line with focus on lighter-weight products, thereby reducing horsepower requirements that customers need to power their boats.
- The introduction of fuel injection and catalyst technology reduced hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx) by approximately 80 percent and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by 50 percent in Mercury sterndrive and inboard engines.
- Our Aft Warning Light system alerts swimmers that the propeller is moving.
- Mercury outboard-engine technology has produced a dramatic reduction in exhaust emissions (combined HC+NOx) in all product categories:
- 80 Percent Lower Emissions from Large Outboards: The 2011 model 150 hp twostroke OptiMax or Four-Stroke Verado compared to previous two-stroke Mercury 150 hp engines.
- Mercury successfully implemented a scorecard that ensures new products are more efficient than those they replace.
- Mercury implemented the use of RPET in clamshell packaging. RPET uses recycled plastic while allowing the packaging to be fully curbside recycled.
Lower Emissions, Improved Efficiency
With the advent of lower-emission OptiMax and Verado outboard engines, and the conversion of gasoline inboard and sterndrive engines to electronic fuel injection and exhaust catalysts, Mercury Marine has significantly reduced exhaust emissions and dramatically improved fuel economy with no loss in engine performance.
ECO-Screen Provides Optimum Efficiency
Mercury Marine’s MercMonitor ECOScreen won the inaugural West Marine Green Product of the Year award in 2010. Mercury’s dash-mounted ECO-Screen automatically calculates and guides boaters to their best fueleconomy settings. Mercury used the $10,000 prize to establish the Mercury Marine Conservation Fund to improve the environment in the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, area, home of Mercury Marine.
Developing Marine Hybrid Propulsion
Mercury Marine demonstrated an example of its commitment to advanced technology with a diesel/electric hybrid powertrain at the 2010 Miami International Boat Show. Equipped with Zeus pod drives, the 42-foot boat used electric power alone to reach speeds of up to nine knots, silently navigating the marina while producing zero emissions. In its E-Boost mode, the system coupled electric motors with marine diesel engines to enhance planing efficiency and provide significant fuel savings. Batteries to power the electric motors are recharged by the diesel engines while under way, and by an array of solar panels on the boat. Mercury intends to continue development of this promising hybrid powertrain.
The Zeus pod drive for large inboard applications delivers up to 30 percent better fuel economy at cruising speeds than a traditional direct-drive inboard of the same power.
The hemi-anechoic chamber – or sound lab – at Mercury Marine headquarters in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, is used primarily for noise-source identification and the development of intake- and exhaust-silencing systems. The lab enables Mercury engineers to target noise-control efforts and optimize sound quality in order to achieve world-class noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) characteristics in outboard engines.
Sustainability Contributions
Products, features and processes that illustrate Mercury Marine’s current sustainability efforts:
- Introduction of sterndrive and inboard engines with catalytic converters
- Leverage test engines across multiple projects
- Utilization of electric motors for component-level validation
- Elimination of acetoxy silicons in sterndrive engines
- Low-permeation fuel lines
- Increased use of Dacromet -plated fasteners in place of cadmium
- Engine oil is recycled for use in trim pump assemblies
- Puck Master system recycles aluminum machining chips
- Robots in wet-paint booth provide more-efficient paint application with less overspray
- Prop Selector identifies most-fuel-efficient propellers
Supporting Young Anglers
Mercury each year donates propellers, oil and other products to the BASS State Federation Nations that are used to raise funds for the support and promotion of youth participation in fishing outboard engines.
