Manufacturers are pursuing a wide variety of “green” initiatives, such as energy-efficient lighting, landfill gas, recycling, solar panels and wind turbines. In fact, more than one-half of our 2014 State of the Profession respondents claim their plant has implemented green-related programs during the past 12 months. That’s a 3 percentage point increase over 2013 and 8 percentage points higher than 2012.
The General Motors’ Orion Assembly Plant sits in the shadow of a large landfill. But, the 4-million-square foot factory, which is home to the Chevrolet Sonic and the Buick Verano, uses that to its advantage. The plant derives a significant portion of its power from landfill gas.
"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.
CHANGWON, South Korea—GM will add a three-megawatt solar installation on the roof of its assembly plant here. The array will cut carbon emissions at the plant by 2,400 metric tons a year.
DEARBORN, MI—The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $292,000 to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) to create university-based programs that will help local manufacturers conserve energy.
AKRON, OH—Goodyear researchers have found that using soybean oil in tires can potentially increase tread life by 10 percent and reduce the tiremaker’s use of petroleum by up to 7 million gallons each year.
