GM Earns More ENERGY STAR® Awards

DETROIT, April 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second consecutive year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized General Motors with a 2014 ENERGY STAR^® Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy management.  

The U.S. EPA also recognized GM's efforts to raise consumer awareness of climate change and presented the company with a 2014 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Climate Communications Award. GM shares energy efficiency best practices within its own operations, as well as with suppliers, partners and customers by amplifying the important, positive effects that energy-efficient behaviors can have on the environment.

"As the world faces sustainability challenges, we strive to be part of the solution—from designing more efficient vehicles to transforming how they're built to reduce environmental impact," said Mike Robinson, vice president of GM Sustainability and Global Regulatory Affairs. "There is a strong business case to be made for integrating energy-efficient practices at all of our global facilities."

GM is committed to reducing carbon intensity at its facilities 20 percent by 2020. Since 2010, the company has reduced energy intensity in the U.S. by 11 percent.

In the last year, GM has 

• Reduced 158,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from energy efficiency and fuel switching projects, the equivalent of powering 22,000 U.S. homes for a year.
• Converted two coal-fired boilers to natural gas at its Wentzville, Mo., assembly plant, for carbon reduction of 57,000 tons. That's equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 1.5 million trees.
• Invested $24 million at Orion, Mich. and Ft. Wayne, Ind. assembly plants to increase landfill gas use and avoid 23,000 tons of CO₂ emissions annually
• Engaged logistics suppliers in carbon reductions and change of delivery and shipping routes to cut CO₂ emissions by 62,000 tons – the equivalent of energy used by more than 5,600 U.S. homes in a year.
• Added nine new and 22 repeat achievers to list of facilities that met the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry – contributing $72 million to total program savings and reducing energy use by 23 percent.

"General Motors has earned EPA's highest ENERGY STAR award – the 2014 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award – because of its unwavering commitment to helping consumers become increasingly more energy efficient," said EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe.

Through 2013, with help from ENERGY STAR, American families and businesses have saved $297 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. 

For more information on GM's environmental commitment, visit its sustainability report and environmental blog.

About General Motors Co.

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com  

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money, and help protect the environment for future generations. About 16,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes and buildings.  For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov

SOURCE General Motors