"The use of renewable energy is essential to making a difference in the world and conducting business in a responsible way," said Chairman and CEO Fisk Johnson, the company’s fifth generation leader. "We hope our use of wind energy will inspire businesses in Racine and other cities to find new, sustainable solutions for reducing energy use."
The pilot program, which begins in January 2010 and runs through January 2011, builds on the company’s efforts to reduce GHG and reduce carbon worldwide. The three wind turbines are located on the roof of one of the seven buildings on SC Johnson’s international headquarters campus, which has an approximate eight block radius and where more than 1,300 employees work. The wind turbines are expected to be fully functioning by the end of the month. Once fully operational, the turbines will be connected to the company’s electrical distribution system. The output they generate will power a small portion of the company’s campus.
The company is hopeful that the outcome of the pilot program will be a clear picture of the number of computers, machines and other basic office resources that can be powered by renewable energy. Depending on the impact of the turbine’s energy output, it is possible the company will extend the project to additional local SC Johnson facilities.
"While we are not sure how much alternative energy these turbines will produce, we expect to have clear, consistent results within a year," said Johnson. "This pilot program will help provide useful information on ways we can develop more sustainable solutions for our campus."
To support local Wisconsin businesses and the local economy, SC Johnson chose American Renewable Power of Wisconsin to install the Swift turbines designed by Cascade Engineering, Inc. The turbines are expected to be fully installed and connected in late January and will be monitored closely throughout the year. SC Johnson engineers and technicians will be able to monitor the energy output and translate the information shortly after they are installed.
"We are thrilled to be using more renewable energy not just in our factories but in our office buildings — it is another way we are doing what’s right for our communities and the environment around us," said Johnson. "As with all of the communities in which we do business, we work to make our communities great places to live and to work."
Only one other facility in Racine uses wind turbines to reduce energy use — Gateway Technical College’s Center for Advanced Tech and Innovation building in Sturtevant, Wis.
History of Doing What’s Right
SC Johnson’s largest global factory, based in Racine, Wis., is partially powered with cogeneration using methane gas from a local public landfill. The Bay City, Mich. plant is powered with wind energy, reducing the annual purchase of coal-fired electricity by nearly half. In Indonesia, waste palm shells are burned as a substitute for fuel, using 80 percent less diesel fuel and in Mijdrecht, The Netherlands, the largest European manufacturing facility is operated by an 80 meter-tall wind turbine which is expected to eliminate 3,900 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Through these efforts, approximately 36 percent of SC Johnson’s total electricity usage worldwide came from renewable energy. The company cut GHG emissions at its worldwide factories by 27 percent during the last eight years, including all its United States operations by 17 percent since 2005. These reductions — achieved three full years ahead of the company’s 2011 target — are the equivalent of taking approximately 11,100 U.S. cars off the road for one year(1).
SC Johnson is a family-owned and managed business dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, and insect control. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®, SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® and ZIPLOC® in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, ECHO®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®, and MR. MUSCLE®. The 124-year old company, with more than $8 billion in sales, employs approximately 12,000 people globally and sells products in more than 110 countries.
