GM Stands with President Obama; Commits to Greater Energy Reduction

Jun 28, 2013 2:15 PM ET
Campaign: GM Energy Efficiency
In partnership with the UAW, employees at Fairfax (Kan.) Assembly, for example, identified cost savings totaling more than $200,000 per year after attending a DOE training event. (Photo by Susan McSpadden for Chevrolet)

Beyond Now

During his speech on climate change earlier this week, President Obama made it clear that the days of sitting idle while the Earth gets warmer are over.

The time to act on climate change, said President Obama, is now. One way to combat the rising levels of greenhouse emissions is by using energy more efficiently.  At General Motors, we are doing just that.

We announced earlier this week that 25 of our facilities have committed to reduce energy costs through the United States Department of Energy’s ‘Better Buildings, Better Plants’ program. The result is an anticipated 25 percent or greater combined reduction in energy use at the plants by 2018.

The program is a national initiative in which the DOE works with industry partners to promote greater energy efficiency in the U.S. industrial sector.

“We continue to prove the business case for better energy management,” said Al Hildreth, General Motors corporate energy manager. “Spreading the word about these benefits and sharing best practices with like-minded organizations will go far in reducing our nation’s energy consumption, and working with the Department of Energy enhances this effort.”

To date, GM has taken advantage of 218 energy-savings opportunities to the tune of more than $7 million in savings.

We also recently became a founding partner of the DOE’s Workplace Charging Challenge, pledging to help increase the number of employers providing workplace vehicle charging tenfold within five years.

Through programs like these, we stand at the forefront of climate change, and we welcome everyone else who wants to join in the fight.