32 industrial companies pledge 25% energy reduction

In conjunction with the Department of Energy's launch of its Save Energy Now Leader program, 32 companies announce voluntary reduction of energy use over the next decade.

By David Greenfield December 8, 2009

Energy Secretary Steven Chu has officiallyannounced the launch of the Save Energy Now Leader Program, which is

Energy Secretary Steven Chu

designedto provide technical assistance and resources to companies that pledgesignificant improvements in industrial energy efficiency.

The Leader program is a new component of theexisting Save Energy Now initiative through which companies partner with DOE toconduct energy audits and assessments designed to identify the opportunitiesfor energy and cost savings in the companies’ operations. Participatingbusinesses also have access to tools and training to implement recommendationsdesigned to help reduce their energy use and lower operating costs. Over 2,000plants received energy assessments through Save Energy Now from 2006 to 2009.To date, those assessments have identified opportunities for $1.3 billion inidentified cost savings, 119 trillion Btu of natural gas savings, and 11.2million metric tons of CO 2 savings.

As part of the program’s launch, 32 companiesrepresenting a broad spectrum of the U.S. industrial sector joined withDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Cathy Zoi tosign a voluntary pledge to reduce their industrial energy intensity by 25% over the next decade.

These charter member companies agreed to establishenergy use and energy intensity baselines, and develop an energy management plan over the next 12 months. As indicated by thespecial "Leader" designation, these companies are more than justfirst actors on the path to greater energy efficiency; they are coming forwardto serve as actual role models and pace setters on an ongoing basis for othersin the industrial sector. In return, the companies will receive access toselect DOE resources, as well as national recognition for energy management achievements.

The companies signing the pledge include:

  • 3M (St. Paul,MN)
  • AT&T (Dallas,TX)
  • BPM Inc. (Peshtigo,WI)
  • Bridgestone (McMinnville,TN)
  • Briggs and Stratton (Wauwatosa,WI)
  • Cummins Inc. (Columbus,IN)
  • Danfoss (Baltimore,MD)
  • Didion Milling (JohnsonCreek, WI)
  • The Dow Chemical Company (Midland,MI)
  • Flambeau River Papers (Park Falls, WI)
  • Honeywell (Morristown,NJ)
  • Ingersoll Rand/Trane (Piscataway,NJ)
  • Intel (Santa Clara,CA)
  • JR Simplot (Boise,ID)
  • Manitowoc Grey Iron Foundry (Manitowoc,WI)
  • Mohawk Industries (Dalton,GA)
  • Neenah Foundry (Neenah,WI)
  • Nissan North America(Smyrna, TN)
  • Osram Sylvania (Danvers,MA)
  • Owens Corning (Toledo, OH)
  • PPG Industries (Pittsburgh,PA)
  • Quad/Graphics Inc. (Sussex,WI)
  • Schneider Electric (Palatine,IL)
  • Serious Materials (Sunnyvale,CA)
  • Shaw Industries (Dalton,GA)
  • Sherwin-Williams, Richmond (Richmond, KY)
  • Spirax Sarco Inc. (Blythewood,SC)
  • Thilmany Papers (Kaukauna,WI)
  • ThyssenKrupp Waupaca (Waupaca,WI)
  • United Technologies Corp. (Hartford,CT)
  • Verso Paper (Memphis,TN)
  • Volvo Trucks Inc. (Dublin,VA)

"These companies’ commitments to energy

efficiency not only generate significant energy and carbon savings, but also

show the entire business community the profitable steps that can be taken to

move us all toward a clean energy future," said Secretary Chu.

"Workingtogether with American manufacturers, we will leverage the

potential of energy efficiency to create new jobs, make our economy more

competitive, and reduce carbon pollution."

The U.S.industrial sector accounts for more than 18 million jobs in the United States,as well as nearly 30% of the energy used nationwide and 27% of the country’scarbon emissions. The Obama Administration has made major commitments toimproving energy efficiency as a path toward enhancing our energy security andstrengthening the American economy, including more than $250 million inRecovery Act investments to improve the efficiency of the industrial andinformation technology sectors.

Access other Control Engineering contentrelated to energy use reduction:

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– Edited by David Greenfield , editorial director
Control Engineering Sustainable Engineering News Desk