Companies are finding that taking action on environmental issues is more than being a good environmental citizen; it is also good business.
In October 2004, WRI released a report—A Climate of Innovation: Northeast Business Action to Reduce Greenhouse Gases—describing case studies from nine companies in the northeast United States that make up the Climate Northeast initiative.
Nine diverse corporations—Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Citigroup, Consolidated Edison of New York, Eastman Kodak Company, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Northeast Utilities Service Company, Pfizer, and Staples—teamed with WRI in 2003 to form the Climate Northeast initiative (http://www.climatenortheast.org/). It focuses on climate change management strategies for energy use, emissions tracking, and innovations such as green power purchasing.
For example:
- Citigroup invested $2.5 million to upgrade its lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning at 270 retail branches in the New York City-Connecticut-New Jersey metropolitan area. With a half-million dollars in efficiency rebates, it was able to pay back this investment in a single year. Electricity and natural gas use were cut by 15 percent and the number of service calls to these branches was reduced by 30 percent.
- Staples decreased its energy use by 12.3 percent since 2001. In 2003, Staples took the money it saved from this
$6.5 million energy-efficiency gain and used it to buy renewable energy. At no additional cost, Staples was able to
green 10 percent of its total energy use. - General Electric continues to diversify into renewable power technologies. In addition to its higher-efficiency appliances and turbines, the company has made major investments in solar power and wind power—and is bringing world-class design and manufacturing skills to these smaller-scale technologies.
