General Motors has earned a prestigious honor by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They have been names the 2013 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year. This is a sustained excellence award for energy management. This is not only about General Motors made vehicles, but also the way in which they run their plants. Energy efficiency was improved by 11% in 2011 for the United States based General Motors plants. This improvement has saved us from 280,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which is equal to yearly emissions from about 52,900 passenger vehicles. This gives the American automaker a savings of million per year in energy costs. The goal is a 20% overall reduction by 2020.

General Motors Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson, comments, “Our contributions to energy efficiency don’t end with the vehicles we produce. How we build them matters, too.”

54 plants have met the ENERGY STAR® Challenge, up from 30 from the previous year. This includes two assembly plants, four warehouses and an office building.

“Everyone involved – from executives to the plant level – understands the importance of a solid energy efficiency strategy,” said Al Hildreth, GM energy manager. “With tactics for conserving energy built into our day-to-day operations, it has become a standard aspect of our manufacturing process.”

Bob Perciasepe, acting administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, adds, “GM leads the field with its commitment to energy efficiency and demonstrates how all Americans can save energy, save money, and create a healthier environment.”

Congratulations to General Motors for their hard work and efforts in creating planet friendlier operations. Hopefully they will become leaders by example for the other automakers. Interestingly, much of the energy savings is due to work done on the plant’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Apparently, these types of small changes add up to huge differences.

Source General Motors