Greater Energy Efficiency; Lower CO2 Emissions

March 20, 2006

Manufacturers' drive for energy efficiency in the face of escalating fossil fuel costs provides a parallel business benefit: fewer CO2 emissions.

Jill Jusko

Indeed, the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Climate Action Challenge, a voluntary greenhouse-gas-emissions reductions program, has as its centerpiece a commitment by its member refiners to improve their energy efficiency by 10% between 2002 and 2012. A recently released progress report by the association says member companies are on track to reach that goal.

Russell Jones, API research manager, said the program was developed in response to the Bush administration's push for voluntary programs to address climate issues.

"Our members thought it was important to participate in a voluntary way, to look for low-cost, cost-effective opportunities to reduce emissions. It matches very well with energy-efficiency concerns that our members have always had.

"The oil and gas industry uses a whole lot of energy," Jones points out. "According to [Department of Energy] statistics, something like 45% of the operating cost of a refinery, excluding raw materials, are energy related."

About the Author

Jill Jusko

Bio: Jill Jusko is executive editor for IndustryWeek. She has been writing about manufacturing operations leadership for more than 20 years. Her coverage spotlights companies that are in pursuit of world-class results in quality, productivity, cost and other benchmarks by implementing the latest continuous improvement and lean/Six-Sigma strategies. Jill also coordinates IndustryWeek’s Best Plants Awards Program, which annually salutes the leading manufacturing facilities in North America.

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