The Energy Department recognized more than 120 manufacturers that are making investments to save on energy costs, cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve their bottom lines.
Through the Department’s Better Buildings, Better Plants Program, more than 1,750 plants across the United States have saved about $1 billion in energy costs and about 190 trillion British thermal units.
AT&T, Cummins, Metal Industries, TE Connectivity and United Technologies Corporation were among those recognized for exceeding their 25-percent energy intensity reduction goal.
The awards were announced at the World Energy Engineering Congress in Washington, DC.
Twelve companies joined the program over the past year.
US manufacturers spend more than $200 billion each year to power their plants. American manufacturers sign a voluntary pledge to reduce energy intensity by about 25 percent over 10 years, or an equally ambitious level for their sector. To date, participating companies represent nearly 8 percent of the total US manufacturing energy footprint. These partners also consume close to 15 percent of the US chemical manufacturing sector’s energy use and 23 percent of energy used across the nation’s transportation equipment manufacturing industry.
The Better Buildings, Better Plants Program is part of President Obama’s broader Better Buildings Initiative to help American commercial and industrial buildings become at least 20 percent more energy efficient over the next 10 years.