In Partnership with the EPA, Company Exceeds its 2010 Goals by More Than 19 Percent
SC Johnson announced today that it achieved its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal set through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders program. The company achieved a 27.4 percent absolute reduction, exceeding its goal to reduce total GHG emissions by eight percent from 2005. This marks the second time that SC Johnson has surpassed its GHG reduction goal.
“SC Johnson is committed to lightening our impact on the world, and exceeding our greenhouse gas reduction goals demonstrates our progress,” said Kelly M. Semrau, Senior Vice President – Global Corporate Affairs, Communication and Sustainability. “We’re proud of the work we’ve done, and we’ll continue to set goals to reduce our resource use worldwide.”
As a charter member of the Climate Leaders program, SC Johnson pledged to reduce its U.S. GHG emissions by eight percent from 2000 to 2005. By the end of 2005, greenhouse gas emissions had been reduced by 17 percent; more than double the absolute reduction target. The company then set a second goal of eight percent to be achieved by 2010 and again exceeded the goal, this time by 19.4 percentage points.
“We congratulate SC Johnson for meeting their goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Climate Leaders Program,” said Beth Craig, EPA’s Acting Director of the Office of Atmospheric Programs. “They are proving that they can be both industry leaders, and leaders in the fight against climate change.”
Reducing Resource Use
Since 2000, SC Johnson has reduced its GHG emissions from all of the company’s manufacturing factories by 26.2 percent. The results were driven by the construction of two green energy cogeneration turbines which power the company’s largest global manufacturing plant in Racine, Wis. Since 2005, the 2.2 million-square-foot facility has been powered by waste methane and natural gas, generating the daily base load of electricity and generating between half and all the steam needed for the plant’s operations.
Also contributing to the reduction is the company’s commitment to wind power. In 2008, SC Johnson agreed to source 46 percent of the electricity for its Bay City, Mich. factory from wind energy, replacing almost half the factory’s annual purchase of coal-fired electricity with a clean, renewable source.
Other initiatives that demonstrate the company’s commitment to renewable energy include:
- An innovative burner/boiler system that since 2007 has enabled the company’s Medan, Indonesia factory to run on palm shells; the remaining waste of the palm oil industry. Rather than being burned as a waste product, the shells are used as a fuel source, transferring them to the value chain with minimal environmental impact reducing the company’s diesel fuel usage by 80 percent in 2008.
- The 2009 construction of an 80 meter tall wind turbine helps power SC Johnson’s European manufacturing facility in Mijdrecht, Netherlands, which is expected to produce 6.1 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year – eliminating 3,900 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
- Continuing to push the winds of change, the company installed three SWIFT mini-wind turbines at its Racine, Wis. Corporate Headquarters in 2010 as a pilot program, with the goal of reducing GHG emissions while raising awareness that renewable energy can be used in urban settings. In their first year of operation, the mini-turbines have reduced GHGs by 580 pounds.
Sources: SC Johnson and USEPA
