Measuring success: How GM scores on energy

GM shows how they earned the Energy Star Challenge from the Environmental Protection Agency

April 15, 2013

General Motors has earned the Energy Star Challenge for Industry from the U.S. EPA. Among the statistics that led to that designation:

  • In 2012, GM improved the energy efficiency of U.S. operations by 11% over 2011, and saved $20 million in energy costs.
  • The 280,000 metric tons of avoided carbon dioxide emissions is equivalent to annual emissions from 52,900 passenger vehicles. GM’s goal is to reduce energy intensity from all of its U.S. facilities by 20% by 2020.
  • The resulting CO2 equivalent reduction of 1,256,000 metric tons is equal to the electricity needed to power more than 142,069 homes annually or provide electricity to a city about the size of New Orleans for one year.
  • Tracking energy use on a real-time basis for U.S. manufacturing sites resulted in nearly 2.5 million points of energy data, which are monitored every minute to create real-time energy performance indicators.
  • Managing energy in its operations by retro-commissioning two assembly plants’ heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems saved $5 million in 2012, and applying similar processes elsewhere in the United States will save $3 million.
  • GM’s 54 facilities cut energy intensity by an average of 26% within just two to three years. 

(Source: General Motors)