"Watch where you step so you avoid the poisonous snakes!” is not something that’s typically heard when touring an automotive assembly plant. But, Volkswagen AG’s two-year-old Chattanooga, TN, facility is out of the ordinary when it comes to being environmentally friendly.
HIGH POINT, NC—Furniture Brands International has completed the American Home Furnishings Alliance’s environmental management system at all of its domestic facilities, including plants, warehouses and offices. Under the system, facilities must improve management of resources and raw materials, reduce energy and water consumption, and reduce waste disposal and associated costs.
NEW BERLIN, WI—J.W. Winco Inc., a manufacturer of industrial machine components, is installing a green roof system this month at its assembly plant here. Benefits include recycling of rainwater and savings on cooling costs.
The University of California-Berkeley has been center stage for new ideas, breakthroughs and radical changes for decades. Today, it’s leading the green manufacturing revolution. Cal Berkeley is home to the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Sus-tainability (LMAS).
CHATTANOOGA, TN—Volkswagen is aiming to reduce its worldwide energy consumption by 25 percent and triple the renewable energy it uses by 2018, part of a program called Think Blue.
WESTMINSTER, MD—Knorr Brake Corp., a manufacturer of braking systems for railcars, has installed an 865-kilowatt solar array on the roof of its assembly plant here. The system is expected to provide up to 60 percent of the plant’s energy requirements.
MOUNTAIN HOME, AR—Eaton Corp. is investing $222,000 in its assembly plant here to reduce the facility’s environmental footprint and improve its energy efficiency.
ASAN, South Korea—Hyundai will install almost 40,000 solar panels on the rooftop of its assembly plant here. The panels are expected to generate 11.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
WASHINGTON—Total energy consumption in the manufacturing sector decreased by 17 percent from 2002 to 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The decline in energy intensity reflects both improvements in energy efficiency and changes in the manufacturing output mix.
RSS
