Jun 19 2003
As with all corporate changes, when manufacturer SC Johnson recently looked to boost environmental performance, a major consideration was the cost. What they found when they looked at their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, were a number of new opportunities to save and make money.
At one plant they are now generating electricity and steam from landfill gas, which is expected to save $2.4 million in annual energy costs while cutting GHG emissions in half.
Other manufacturers, such as DuPont, GM, and BP, are now tracking their greenhouse-gas emissions with the goal of curbing pollution and improving efficiency while several companies have earned 40 to 50 percent returns on energy-saving investments.
Greener buildings are also becoming more commonplace with the new 48-story Condé Nast building in New York's Times Square, saving $500,000 in energy costs each year thanks to energy efficient technologies like compact fluorescent lighting, clean-burning furnaces, roof-top solar cells, and super-insulated windows. The energy savings will pay off the cost of the building's efficiency measures in five years.
Source: ENN