A federal program aimed at improving manufacturers’ energy use translated to more than $5 billion in savings on energy costs to date.
The U.S. Department of Energy this month released its latest update on the agency’s Better Buildings, Better Plants Program, a voluntary initiative with the goal of reducing energy intensity — energy consumed relative to the gross domestic product — by 25% over a 10-year window.
More than 200 partners — including 14 companies on the Fortune 100 list — have enrolled in the program. Participating companies and wastewater facilities accounted for about 3,000 facilities nationwide and some 12% of the overall energy footprint of the U.S. manufacturing sector.
Those companies, the report said, have saved the equivalent of more than 1 quadrillion British thermal units of energy for a cost savings of $5.3 billion.
In the past year, seven participants met the energy intensity threshold, including Owens Corning and Lockheed Martin, while three companies in the Better Plants Challenge — which requires disclosure of energy-saving best practices — also met those goals: electrical company Legrand, guitar maker C.F. Martin & Co., and General Motors.
Twelve new partners joined the program in the past year, including Fiat Chrysler, castings manufacturer Donsco and metal fabricator Dixline.
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