The Green Movement: Been there, done that. (And still doing it now.)

Responsible companies everywhere are now challenging themselves to integrate eco-friendly solutions as part of their business plans. Sustainability efforts can impact every level of an organization, and in recent years has become a new business performance metric.

“All of our businesses are about the environment,” said Paul Von Paumgartten, director, building efficiency energy and environmental affairs. “That includes our Automotive Experience, our Power Solutions and Building Efficiency groups. And all of these things that we do for a living are what is going to help make the planet better.”
As one of the original members of the United States Green Building Council and co-chair of the LEED steering committee, Paumgartten was instrumental in Johnson Controls’ environmental efforts which twice earned us the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR® award. “It’s like the collective light bulb has gone on and the world has come to a realization that sustainability is not a fad, but rather essential for our survival,” said Paumgartten.

“One of the biggest challenges we face is around energy and sustainability, and that's right in the sweet spot of what we do,” said Clay Nesler, vice president, building efficiency global energy and sustainability. “I think what you're seeing is increased attention to both energy costs, as well as environmental responsibility, and the impact that energy use can have on the climate.”
Through our combined product and service portfolio, we help our customers to reduce costs, increase facility performance and reduce their overall environmental footprint in an effort to ‘green’ their organizations. “We have a very significant role in promoting energy efficiency. We understand that everyone in our company has a role to play in conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gases , both at work and at home, ” said Nesler.

A vision that we have had for some time is to deal with waning energy sources by introducing more renewables such as solar power, biomass, geothermals and turbines. “Renewable energy is a natural extension of our energy efficiency performance contracting business because it gives customers the opportunity to realize monetary benefits from energy efficiency that can be applied to renewable energy solutions,” said Don Albinger, renewable solutions, building efficiency.

We have helped thousands of customers such as schools, from K-12 to universities, to save billions of dollars in energy costs. By the beginning of the 2007-2008 school years, for example, the Erie Community School District in Erie, Ill., will be the only school district in the nation to have all its buildings, inclusive of the high school, middle school, elementary school and annex, powered solely by wind energy from turbines that Johnson Controls installed. Not only is the $3.5 million project expected to save the district millions in energy costs, it also will enhance their curriculum.

At the University of South Carolina, Johnson Controls is managing the construction and operation of the biomass gasification cogeneration plant that will furnish the USC campus with steam and electricity fueled by local wood-product waste, a process that will heat 85% of the campus in an environmentally-sound manner.

“Johnson Controls has played a major role in achieving what seemed at times impossible,” said Mike Webb, Energy Conservation Officer for the Borough of Telford & Wrekin in the UK, a Council that is committed to managing energy costs as well as reducing energy consumption to meet government targets. “Their support, technical expertise, commitment and enthusiasm have made our vision a reality.”

According to a report by the non-profit Leonardo Academy, Johnson Controls and its customers in more than 125 countries around the world are collectively estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 232 million tons by the year 2026. Concurrently, this translates into $21 billion in combined energy savings.
As an industry leader, we have a responsibility to drive sustainability initiatives, green building, and of being energy efficiency champions. “We are going to be part of the solution. We are going to make lighter cars, lighter materials, hybrid batteries and we will be the green building experts. That’s what we do,” said Paumgartten.