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Back in School and Back to Energy Savings

October 3, 2012 Written by  Comments Print
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The new school year is officially underway. For those of you that might have helped your children with back-to-school shopping or if you’re a student that recently got back in the swing of things, here are a few fun facts about companies that are achieving savings and reducing their carbon footprint.

IKEA - Did you know that IKEA has installed solar panels in the US stores of Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia and Utah? Combined, these solar panels can produce 38 megawatts (MW) of power. That’s enough power to run up to seven locomotives.

Staples - Staples is taking on the Better Buildings Challenge that is funded by the US Department of Energy. So far, the energy conservation and green power investments by Staples has reduced carbon emissions 66% from a 2001 baseline to 2011. The company hopes to reduce their carbon footprint 50% by 2025. By 2020, Staples hopes to reduce energy intensity (the measure of energy efficiency of a nation’s economy) by 25%.

Kohl’s - Kohl’s offers fashionable clothing at affordable prices and they also create an astounding number of new jobs around the holidays. They are also taking on the Better Buildings Challenge with a goal of reducing energy intensity by 20% in 2020.

Starbucks - Starbucks offers delicious and consistent coffee selections, pastries and other goodies to start your morning and keep you fueled during a long school or work day. Did you know the company also cares about energy efficiency? Lucid's Building Dashboard is a 30 day pilot competition that Starbucks is participating in. During this program, Lucid hopes to encourage Starbucks employees to identify conservation strategies that will reduce the amount of energy required to run their stores without negatively impacting customer service. Starbucks also uses post-consumer waste to produce their coffee sleeves. Even while pumping out caramel macchiatos and mocha frappuccinos, Starbucks is aiming to reduce energy consumption in its US stores by at least 25% by 2015.

Check out our infographic below on energy savings by big companies. Click the link to view last week's blog post Electricity Savings by the Numbers or check back next week for more energy saving tips for your school year.

*Sources:

  1. Daily Herald. 2012. Available here.
  2. U.S. Department of Energy. 2012. Available here.
  3. PRWeb. July 31, 2012. Available here.

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