The EPA's coveted ENERGY STAR certification has just been awarded to 30 new GM plants. This is just one more step in GM's plan to conserve energy and go green.
General Motors has now met the Energy Star Challenge for Industry! The energy intensity at thirty GM plants across North America has been cut by about twenty five percent per plant. That’s enough energy to power about ninety seven thousand U.S. homes!
These efforts saved energy for thousands of people and may have saved the lives of millions of tress! And these efforts didn’t just save energy, they saved money too! The efforts to reduce energy waste saved GM plants around fifty million dollars in energy costs! That kind of savings for GM means savings for GM customers too!
The EPA program that really kick started GM’s energy saving efforts expects manufacturing companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and improve their efficiency by ten percent over five years. By setting a goal, GM was able to implement ewfficiency projects, track energy use, and verify their energy savings until they reached that goal.
"EPA congratulates GM for achieving these important energy efficiency improvements," said Jean Lupinacci, chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial and Industrial Program. "Energy efficiency can deliver significant financial and environmental benefits, and we look forward to GM's continued leadership and partnership with ENERGY STAR."
GM implemented several different energy saving programs to reach its goals. They achieved the challenge by using energy management systems to curb unnecessary energy use, implementing automated equipment shut downs, and implementing more energy efficient lighting as well as heating and cooling systems.
This new award from the EPA comes just after the award of ENERGY STAR certification from the EPA for the Lansing Delta Township Plant. The Lansing Delta Township Plant received their certification for performing in the twenty fifth percentile nationwide for energy efficiency. This ENERGY STAR certification is just a physical manifestation of GM’s commitment to energy efficiency globally.
“GM employees at all levels help us reduce energy use and be more efficient throughout our operations,” said Mike Robinson, GM vice president of Sustainability and Global Regulatory Affairs. “With this also comes a strong business case – these improvements saved us $50 million, which helps make the company more competitive.”
With this new huge batch of plants being ENERGY STAR certified, GM alone now represents almost a third of all ENERGY STAR certified sites for the Challenge for Industry. Three hundred and eighty six manufacturing sites have taken the challenge, and according to the EPA only eighty six of them have achieved that goal thus far. This makes GM’s thirty new ENERGY STAR plantsthirty out of eighty six plants.
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