Why Lerman Enterprises Chose Gravity After Evaluating 15 Carbon Management Platforms

About Lerman Enterprises

Lerman Enterprises is one of the largest steel processors and manufacturers in the U.S., with operations in the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. Its affiliated companies include Steel Warehouse, a premier steel processor and service center; custom tubing manufacturers Lock Joint Tube and Welded Tubes; and stamping and fabrication solutions provider SFI, among others. The company provides steel solutions to large OEM and fabricator customers in industries including transportation, construction, agriculture, energy, and heavy equipment.

Headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, Lerman Enterprises employs approximately 2,100 people across its affiliated companies. The company invests significantly in manufacturing technology and advanced processing capabilities, with a deep bench of engineering and metallurgical expertise.

The Challenge: Customer requests and rising energy costs

Lerman Enterprises’ sustainability strategy focuses on building a smarter, sustainable steel supply chain to help its customers stay competitive in a changing regulatory landscape. As its customers navigate disclosure requirements like the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the company often receives emissions data requests from customers’ procurement and sustainability teams. The measurement to fulfill these requests proved difficult at first, however, as the company tracked utility data and emissions using Excel spreadsheets and Microsoft Forms. Employees found the manual data entry process burdensome.

Beyond reporting, Lerman Enterprises also faced a pressing operational challenge from rising energy costs. As a steel processor and manufacturer operating energy-intensive equipment across dozens of facilities, the 6.5% increase in average U.S. electricity prices from 2024 to 2025 represented a significant operating expense for the company. Lerman Enterprises looked to identify energy efficiency projects that delivered tangible savings, but lacked the unified data, clear project prioritization, and reliable ROI estimates to move as quickly as they wanted. 

The Solution: Integrated carbon and energy management

"Gravity was the only platform that really highlighted energy savings, and that set them apart from others in the space that we were considering. When we started talking about energy savings and demand response, it was literally a no-brainer to say this is the right group.” — David Temme, Sustainability Officer, Lerman Enterprises

Lerman Enterprises needed to find a practical solution to streamline carbon accounting and identify ROI-positive energy projects. David Temme, Sustainability Officer at Lerman Enterprises, was also looking for deep climate expertise, as he came to his role with extensive operational and engineering experience but was new to sustainability. The team evaluated 15 carbon management platforms and ultimately selected Gravity due to its best-in-class customer service and unique focus on integrated carbon and energy management. 

After signing with Gravity, the team quickly accomplished what had seemed impossible with a manual approach. In just 5 weeks, working with their dedicated Gravity climate strategist, Lerman Enterprises successfully measured Scope 1 and 2 emissions across all facilities. The platform automated data collection through utility API integrations and AI-driven bill scanning, eliminating the manual burden on the company’s operations and facilities teams.

With utility data flowing into Gravity, the platform immediately began surfacing cost-saving energy opportunities. The team leveraged Gravity’s software and expertise to qualify multiple facilities across their affiliated companies as strong candidates for demand response programs, which pay companies to voluntarily reduce electricity use during peak demand periods. Gravity connected the team with Voltus, a leading distributed energy resources (DER) technology platform and virtual power plant operator, through its Energy Management Marketplace. 

The Result: Fast measurement and energy cost savings

Lerman Enterprises quickly automated the measurement of Scope 1 and 2 emissions and responded to all of their outstanding CBAM customer requests, with expert guidance from their Gravity climate strategist. This allowed the company’s sustainability team to start working on Scope 3 emissions in weeks, using Gravity’s supplier engagement module to create custom surveys and efficiently collect relevant data from its suppliers. 

Lerman Enterprises also moved quickly on energy management, enrolling Lock Joint Tube and Steel Warehouse facilities in demand response programs expected to generate an estimated $196,000 in annual revenue with zero upfront capital investment, no disruption to operations, and only 2-3 hours of participation per year. The company is now actively evaluating Steel Warehouse’s other 18 locations for demand response participation, and is also exploring solar and battery storage projects as longer-term opportunities once they have proven measurable savings from energy management.

"What really distinguishes demand response is there's little to no capital investment, and you see savings quickly. It makes a great entry point into the world of energy and cost savings. We look at demand response as the starting point, followed by more capital-intensive projects like solar." — David Temme, Sustainability Officer, Lerman Enterprises

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