AT&T is one of the companies, that have already exceeded their 25% energy intensity reduction goal and maintained that level of improvement for at least two consecutive years. (Credit: Flickr @ Bill Bradford http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrbill/)The U.S. Energy Department this week recognized more than 120 manufacturers that are making smart energy efficiency investments to save on energy costs, cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve their bottom lines. Through the Department’s Better Buildings, Better Plants Program (Better Plants), over 1,750 plants across the United States have saved about $1 billion in energy costs and approximately 190 trillion British thermal units—equivalent to about 11 million metric tons of CO2 emissions.
During keynote remarks at the World Energy Engineering Congress today in Washington, D.C., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan praised Better Plants partners for their energy efficiency accomplishments and welcomed 12 new companies that joined the program over the last year.
“Through the Better Plants program, American manufacturers are cutting energy waste and saving millions of dollars each year,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan. “These manufacturers are leading by example—demonstrating the promise of energy efficiency, increasing competitiveness in the private sector and reducing harmful carbon pollution.”
Across the United States, manufacturers spend more than $200 billion each year to power their plants. Through the Energy Department’s Better Plants Program, American manufacturers sign a voluntary pledge to make energy efficiency investments and reduce energy intensity by about 25 percent over ten years, or an equally ambitious level for their sector. To date, participating companies represent nearly 8 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing energy footprint. These partners also consume close to 15 percent of the U.S. chemical manufacturing sector’s energy use and 23 percent of energy used across the nation’s transportation equipment manufacturing industry.
At the World Energy Engineering Congress, Deputy Assistant Secretary Hogan also recognized five companies—AT&T, Cummins, Metal Industries, TE Connectivity and United Technologies Corporation—for exceeding their 25-percent energy intensity reduction goal. Along with the other Better Plants participants, these companies are modeling cost-effective energy management practices that save money and strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing. The Better Plants program supports the Energy Department’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative—a cross-cutting effort to ensure U.S. manufacturers remain competitive in the global marketplace.
The Better Buildings, Better Plants Program is part of broader Better Buildings Initiative to help American commercial and industrial buildings make energy efficiency investments and become at least 20 percent more energy efficient over the next 10 years. The Initiative also includes the Better Buildings Challenge through which U.S. companies, universities, school districts and state and local governments have committed to reducing energy use across their building portfolios by 20 percent or more. Thirteen U.S. manufacturers have stepped up to the Better Plants Challenge—the industrial component of the Better Buildings Challenge—to achieve portfolio-wide energy savings and share successful strategies that maximize efficiency and help overcome financial and technical barriers across the marketplace.
