 |
Gore Optimistic on Climate Bill – Says We Are At Tipping Point
October 12, 2009
Posted by johnsoncontrols at 06:07 PM | Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBacks (0)
By Steve Thomas, Johnson Controls, Inc. Former Vice President Al Gore was in Madison, Wisconsin last week to speak at the annual convention of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ). His main topic was the need for the US to pass a climate bill, and he implored the Senate to get it done before the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. He asked attendees to get onboard to help drive the Senate to action, saying that to go into Copenhagen without a bill would hamper the ability of the US to help drive negotiations to a productive conclusion – significantly delaying action on global warming. Gore said he believes we are at a tipping point, that we have reached a critical mass where many people, organizations and business leaders around the world agree that we need to have a successful agreement. As proof of a change of attitude among businesses, Gore cited the high-profile defections from the US Chamber of Commerce in the past few weeks. He also pointed out the full-page advertisements being run in USA Today, The New York Times and The Washington Post by large companies and NGOs calling on the Senate to pass a bill this year. For the record, Johnson Controls is one of the companies supporting the advertising campaign calling for a clean energy bill this year. We do not belong to the US Chamber of Commerce. And we have signed the Prince of Wales Copenhagen Communique, along with more than 500 other global corporations, in support of an agreement at the UN climate negotiations. Finally, we will be in Copenhagen at the “Bright Green” expo being held in conjunction with the negotiations – and we will have people serving as observers in conjunction with several NGOs that we work with. While others at the SEJ conference, including members of President Obama’s own staff, were not as optimistic as Gore, I hope that he is right and the others are shown to have been too pessimistic. Having watched this issue for many years, it really seems that there is more support and more urgency than ever before. If we don’t get it done now, when will we?
The Fight Over Climate Change is Heating Up
September 30, 2009
Posted by johnsoncontrols at 07:11 AM | Permalink
| Comments (1)
| TrackBacks (0)
By Steve Thomas, Johnson Controls Big news in Chicago at this week’s American Council on an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) National Conference on Energy Efficiency as a Resource: Exelon Chairman and CEO John Rowe announced that his company will join the growing number of companies dropping out of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of that organization’s position on climate change regulation. The Chamber has opposed climate legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and the EPA’s plan to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. Rowe also expressed frustration with both the Chamber and Republicans in Congress for backing away from Cap and Trade, which he called a "rational, market-based solution." Regarding legislation in Congress, he added "we have got to have this bill to get an energy efficiency market and to get incentives for the lowest cost solutions first." In a statement issued later, Rowe said, “The carbon-based free lunch is over,” as he called for the U.S. government to establish climate change policy sooner rather than later so companies can determine how much it will cost them to curb their emissions. Recently, Pacific Gas & Electric (California’s largest utility) and PNM Resources (which operates New Mexico’s biggest power producer) also withdrew from the national chamber. Nike and Johnson & Johnson criticized the chamber’s positions, but opted to remain as members of the business lobbying group. It is not known if these high-profile defections will have an impact on the Chamber’s position. What is clear, however, is that there are major disagreements in the business community over climate change and what to do about it. And those disagreements are almost certain to heat up in the face of mounting pressures for the U.S. government to do something about climate change as the summit in Copenhagen nears.
Climate Week: People and Progress
September 26, 2009
Posted by johnsoncontrols at 08:20 AM | Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBacks (0)
By Clay Nesler, VP-Global Energy & Sustainability, Johnson Controls, Inc. Thursday at the Clinton Global Initiative was the high point of a great week. The opening plenary session included Jeff Immelt (GE CEO), John Chambers (Cisco CEO), Carlos Ghosn (Renault-Nissan CEO) and Kofi Annan (Former UN General Secretary). It was a great discussion by some great leaders. One interesting comment came from Jeff Immelt who noted that while companies compete on a 1-5 year timeframe, they should work together in the 10 year timeframe to help define and shape the future. It is clear that solving the significant challenges we face will not only require the support of major corporations, but also their leadership. My panel followed immediately after the plenary session and was focused on Infrastructure of Place – Sustainability and the Built Environment. The session was moderated by Vijay Vaitheeswaran, global correspondent of The Economist and Co-Author of ZOOM. The diverse panel included Ritt Bjerregaard, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Nancy Kete, Program Director of the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport, Albina Ruiz, Execuitive Director of Ciudad Saludable in Peru and Ron Simms, Deputy Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as myself. Lord Mayor Bjerregaard’s talked about a Climate Summit for Mayors to run in parallel to the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen. Mayors from Delhi, New York, Hong Kong, Moscow, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney and many others are participating. Copenhagen has one of the largest and most successful district heating systems that supplies 97% of the city with clean, affordable heating recovered from waste heat from power plants and waste incineration. Ron Simms was a great champion for the new inter-agency approach to promoting green communities and improving livability. He described how green mortgages and other financial incentives are being bundled into larger grants to communities to seed programs that will be self-sustaining over time. I was again asked about infrastructure support for electric vehicles (three for three) and then was finally asked to share experiences and best practices from the Empire State Building project. This case study never fails to captivate and inspire an audience. During a break-out, a challenge emerged of designing all new buildings to be carbon neutral and improving the efficiency of all existing buildings by 50%. Projects such as our IDeAS project in San Jose, CA and the Empire State Building are cited as evidence that these goals may be achievable on a broader scale. The final event that we participated in was a special session on infrastructure entitled “Building a Better Future.” President Clinton participated along with Brad Pitt and Tom Darden of Make it Right, a non-profit focused on developing safe, green, energy efficient and affordable housing in New Orleans post Katrina. This is a great story about building a community of 150 LEED Platinum homes in a devastated area of New Orleans seeing no redevelopment two years after Katrina. Through thoughtful re-engineering of the entire design and construction process, these homes are being built at a cost of $150 per square foot which is competitive to conventional construction. Monthly utility bills are in the $30-50 range due to the use of solar PV with some as low as $8 per month. Bill McDonough later joined the panel made some provocative comments. He asked that we not to start initiatives or projects with metrics as they naturally lead to benchmarking which drives to goals that are “less bad.” He instead suggests starting with clear principles based on “good” outcomes like “no toxics”, “no waste”, “renewable energy” before defining strategies, actions and metrics. Before the panel, Johnson Controls along with Jack Hidary, Jeff Tannenbaum and Bracken Hendricks were recognized by President Clinton for our commitment to PACENOW, an innovative energy efficiency financing model. Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) was created to accelerate the retrofitting of America’s existing buildings through PACE bonds which allow commercial and residential property owners to finance energy efficiency measures and small renewable energy projects as a lien on their property tax bill. The important role of companies like Johnson Controls in guaranteeing the energy savings was made by the President, who is a strong advocate for the approach. This is my last update from a very busy and exciting week in New York. (Check out my reports from earlier in the week in the Archives for this month.) There is much to be positive about including the role of energy efficiency in buildings and vehicles to help reduce carbon emissions and create a strong clean energy economy. Onward to Copenhagen!
Climate Week: People and Progress
September 24, 2009
Posted by johnsoncontrols at 08:32 AM | Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBacks (0)
By Clay Nesler, VP-Global Energy & Sustainability, Johnson Controls, Inc. The big event on the second day of Climate Week was the United Nations summit on Climate Change. During the session, President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao both made statements intended to move the climate treaty process forward in anticipation of the December meetings in Copenhagen. President Hu Jintao committed to as yet undisclosed reductions in carbon intensity on a national basis. President Obama committed in other discussions to help move the energy and climate bill through the U.S. Senate. Johnson Controls involvement in the UN proceedings was as a signatory to the Copenhagen Communique. This set of guiding principles for the Copenhagen negotiations was signed by 630 companies from 50 countries. Our Chairman and CEO, Steve Roell, signed on behalf of Johnson Controls. At the global media release of the Communique, the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Energy and Climate shared his view that an agreement in Copenhagen would be good for the planet and good for the economy. He cited the importance of energy efficiency and the fact that these investments can be made quickly with a positive financial return. The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) kicked-off with a panel discussion including the CEOs of Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart and the heads of state from Chile and Australia. The CGI is a very diverse group of global corporations, governments and civil society which come together once a year to make commitments, share progress and celebrate success. The Clinton Climate Initiative, of which we are a charter signatory, was started as a result of discussions at an earlier Clinton Global Initiative meeting. The discussion attempted to answer the question “can we reduce emissions without killing the economy?” The panelists all believed the answer was “yes,” and President Clinton went so far as to say that climate policy was actually good for the economy. He used energy efficiency and the recent McKinsey studies to make his point. He also mentioned that there will soon be 100,000 electric vehicles on the road in Isreal which certainly isn’t going to tank their economy.
The highlight of the Clinton Global Initiative opening ceremony was an address by President Barack Obama. President Obama praised President Clinton on the level of commitment that the CGI has been able to secure around the world. Thursday’s schedule includes a panel discussion hosted by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco on how to build on Copenhagen to ensure rapid mobilization of climate solutions? In July our Building Efficiency business in Europe committed to working with the Prince Albert II Foundation to promote energy efficiency in Europe and the Mediterranean. Both parties have agreed to explore a range of possible projects, events and other areas of collaboration to elevate awareness and action on the topic of energy efficiency and its positive impact on global climate change. Also during this historic week, we will meet with the President of Mexico at a reception sponsored by the Alliance to Save Energy.
Climate Week: People and Progress
September 23, 2009
Posted by johnsoncontrols at 09:16 AM | Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBacks (0)
By Clay Nesler, VP-Global Energy & Sustainability, Johnson Controls, Inc. It’s Climate Week in New York City, and a number of high-profile events are attracting more than 100 attending world leaders to come to agreement on a climate change treaty in Copenhagen this coming December. Johnson Controls is participating in a number of these events sponsored by the Climate Group (of which we are now a corporate member), throughout the week, and I will be summarizing some of the highlights. Monday morning started with a presentation of the Carbon Disclosure Project results for S&P 500 and Global 500 companies. We have been reporting our greenhouse gas emissions, policies and plans for many years. It was great to see that the overall response rate by the Global 500 to the CDP questionnaire was 82% this year, up from 77% last year. The big opening event featured UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon, Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Copenhagen conference chair Connie Hedegaard and the leading climate negotiators from the US, China, India. There was also an appearance by actor Hugh Jackman. Tony Blair did a great job framing the challenge. He said, “the will is there, can we find the way?” He asked that we not let “the best be the enemy of the good” and that any agreement that starts the world on a path to meaningful carbon reduction would be a good outcome. The chief negotiators from China and India showed a renewed interest in supporting a compromise agreement that would reflect differentiated responses and actions based on differentiated responsibilities for climate change. Later in the day, at a panel session focused on US-China clean energy cooperation, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) gave a sobering assessment of the importance of climate change and the opportunity for businesses to profit from climate change solutions. He mentioned that only five of the 30 largest clean energy companies are located in the US. He said that the US is the worst of any country in the world with respect to energy efficiency and that energy efficiency is not being factored into the economic analysis of climate change. Sen. Kerry also said that energy efficiency pays for itself and that smart companies are investing today. He closed by asking, “What’s the worst that could happen if we get a global climate deal? More jobs, cleaner air, less imported energy, more national security.” At the last event of the day, I participated on behalf of Johnson Controls Power Solutions, our division that makes batteries, in a Climate Group-sponsored panel discussion on electric vehicles that included global technology companies, clean tech investors and government officials. The consensus was that dramatic growth in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles was inevitable over time but that a coordinated approach to technology development, infrastructure deployment and public policy was needed to reach the tipping point of widespread adoption. Upcoming summaries will include highlights from a media event for the Copenhagen Communique and an address by President Barack Obama at the Clinton Global Initiative.
Answering the Climate Call
July 26, 2009
Posted by johnsoncontrols at 11:55 PM | Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBacks (0)
By Michael T. Loth, Johnson Controls Like a cell phone that gets a little louder with each successive ring, the climate message to businesses worldwide gets a little more urgent every day: “Pick up the phone; it might be important!” Lately, the calls have come from the global investment community. In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) divulged recently that it is considering requiring publically-owned companies to let their stockholders know just how much risk they could face as a result of their greenhouse gas emissions. Climate Wire says the SEC is meeting privately with groups representing investors’ interests in an effort to figure out just how much companies should have to disclose – if, in fact, the SEC ultimately decides to impose new requirements. On the global front, a new report from the United Nations concludes that financial advisors and asset managers for institutional investors could find themselves getting sued for negligence if they don’t advise their clients about any environmental and social concerns related to the companies they tout. Coming on top of the cap-and-trade scheme contained in climate legislation currently before the U.S. Congress – and coupled with growing public concern – the voice mail to companies is pretty clear: if you’re not already measuring your carbon emissions, you’re probably going to be required to do so in the not very distant future. Fortunately, many organizations have already picked up the phone. A new study by GTM Research finds that roughly 3,000 organizations worldwide are calculating their carbon emissions. Many of them are using what is called “Enterprise Carbon Accounting” software to accomplish the task, and the report finds that Johnson Controls is one of the global leaders in the category. The reason is our recently-released and enhanced Energy and Emissions Management System. This remarkable software helps global organizations develop a clearer picture of energy trends and their greenhouse gas emission. It gives them the ability to measure, manage and forecast energy costs, energy usage, energy efficiency initiatives, fleet emissions and energy waste. A greenhouse gas inventory module automates carbon accounting by consolidating all sources of emissions, baseline adjustments and any impacts of carbon trading. The result is a comprehensive, transparent and verifiable inventory of an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions. The web-based system is user friendly and truly global – supporting international data entry and generating reports in four languages, using numerous currencies and units of measure. Best of all, it already has a great track record, currently: - Managing $1 billion in annual energy spending
- Monitoring 63 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from 5,000 buildings in 88 countries
- Capturing more than 8,000 energy and cost saving initiatives in the last eight years – nearly half for global giants such as Pfizer, Wyeth, Dell and Xerox
Simply put, this system incorporates one of the most advanced management software programs on the market to help organizations answer the ever-increasing calls to meet emerging greenhouse gas emission reporting standards. Efficiency Now… It’s never been more important!
Beyond Jargon
July 28, 2008
Posted by johnsoncontrols at 08:01 PM | Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBacks (0)
Beyond Jargon By Marc Andraca Director, Global Energy & Sustainability, Johnson Controls, Inc. Of our many renewable resources, “jargon” may (unfortunately) be the one most widely used by industry. Virtually every company and market sector invents words, acronyms, model numbers and other terminology that is unique and generally comprehensible only to their particular group. Within the Johnson Controls Global Energy and Sustainability team, we often find ourselves exploring and making sense of whole new fields of jargon. We try to engage thought leaders, organizations, companies and partners to get their perspectives on sustainability megatrends around us and the implications they could have for our business. We work with new people and organizations to understand the rapidly changing energy landscape, the possible impacts of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and the opportunities and risks these trends create. To succeed, we must constantly decipher these acronyms, titles, buzzwords and symbols and translate them into concepts that are simple and make sense. As part of this work we recently participated in a conference called “Land of Opportunity: The American Response to Climate Change.” The gathering took a solution-oriented approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, focused on buildings, appliances, power generation, and forests. Participants included the Natural Resources Defense Council, McKinsey & Company, General Electric, the World Resources Institute, Harvard University and others. Like any conference, the jargon quotient was huge. But one set of words emerged that was powerful precisely because it was about clarifying jargon: ‘Global warming’ is a misnomer….what is happening is ‘global climactic disruption.’ Warming is a nice thing. It makes folks feel good. It happens slowly and comfortably. But as presented by John Holdren, professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Harvard University, what we are experiencing globally has nothing to do with what we think of as warming. Instead, he urged conference attendees to reframe their thinking, and to view what is already happening as massive, untidy, dramatic disruptions that will cause widespread and almost entirely harmful change to the natural world around us, and by implication to individuals and society. Specifically, he said we will confront large-scale, unpredictable, and painful disruptions around: - availability of water
- productivity of farms, forests and fisheries
- prevalence of oppressive heat
- new geography of disease
- damages from storms, floods, droughts and wildfires
- distribution and abundance of species
The conference addressed solutions to this global climactic disruption over two long days. At the center was a focus on several issues: the crucial role of energy efficiency in buildings, the policies and programs that are needed, and the costs and benefits of different alternatives. Johnson Controls was praised for the important work we do around whole-building energy retrofits, and was recognized as a company leading the sustainability charge. And of course, business cards were exchanged; people reconnected. But the most salient concept that emerged and has ‘stuck’ is that simple idea: It’s not about warming, it’s about disruption. These disruptions will be broader, more intense, more frequent, and much, much more costly. From a scientific standpoint, Holdren stated with total certainty that we are feeling these disruptions already – droughts in China, floods around the world, forest fires in the western U.S., glaciers melting at the North and South Poles . . . In a disruption-intense planet, our corporate vision – a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world – never seemed more important. Marc Andraca is the director of the Global Energy & Sustainability business unit for Johnson Controls, Inc. He also serves on the board of the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
Greening the Planet, Beginning at Greenbuild
November 05, 2007
Posted by johnsoncontrols at 05:14 PM | Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBacks (0)
By: Gerrit Reinders
October 14, 2007
I recently read Doha and Dalian, Tom Friedman’s column in the New York Times about a recent trip he had made to Doha (capital of Qatar, a tiny state east of Saudi Arabia) and Dalian (city in northeast China and is one of China’s Silicon Valleys). Neither of these cities are well known in my circle of friends, many of whom had never heard of either, and that’s what scared me about the article. The problem is that cities around the world are growing so quickly, and their skylines are being shaped by buildings and skyscrapers, and roads and highways filled with vehicles. All of which will consume more energy then we can conserve with our green movement in the USA. This global movement is an opportunity to rally everyone together to pursue a common goal – to save the planet. This may well be the rallying cry that allows all of 300 billion world inhabitants to work together to ensure a livable place to live for the generations who follow us.
As the rest of the world is reshaping its skylines we will need to figure out a way to accelerate this movement into hypergrowth and ensure it’s not just a U.S. movement. The drive has to be global – everyone is clamoring to do the right thing, so let’s make it easy for these organizations to get started. After all, getting started is the hardest part. One of the best places to get started is through the US Green Building Council, one of the fastest growing non-profits in the country. Its annual conference, Greenbuild will take place Nov. 7-9, 2007. Organizers expect about 20,000 people to descend upon Chicago to network with other professionals, learn from their experiences and discover all the newest technologies and tools to help buildings become green. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of global visitors are expected to attend Greenbuild. What are we going to collectively do to make it easy for them to learn from the experiences we have acquired in the US? The business case for green buildings is compelling and when combined with education can propel this movement globally. Green buildings should be the standard - globally.
To make green buildings the global standard will surely require a lot of leadership - people with courage and a strong backbone - because the status quo will fight the change; it always does. People are creatures of habit and generally prone to take the easy solution because it’s familiar and well … easier. Nevertheless, I’m hopeful, because over the centuries humans have proven to be a resilient species, one capable of incredible things when motivated by a common cause. Personally, I think saving the planet is such a cause, and I find it almost criminal to not adopt the off-the-shelf solutions that exist on the market today. Off-the-shelf solutions that can dramatically improve the indoor environment of our buildings and at the same time significantly reduce the amount of natural resources these buildings consume and the pollutants they emit. There will be winners and losers in dealing with climate change. I believe that we will have more carbon constraints in the future then we do today, and we will also be paying more for our energy than we do today. Given those two things alone, designing and constructing buildings that are energy and water efficient, produce less waste and simultaneously deliver a far better quality indoor environment. What’s not to like? Many people are amazed that a law hasn’t been passed already to mandate it.
Let’s take a look at some simple math and the potential impact on the green movement. What if each of the 42,000 people who have been accredited by the USGBC were to commit to help one existing building go green and to recruit one more professional to take the test and become accredited? And what if each of the more then 10,000 organizations that are members of the USGBC were to commit to green at least one of their own buildings and one of their suppliers’ buildings each year? The transformation could accelerate more quickly – these simple goals would achieve 62,000 buildings in one year. If the average building is 100,000 sq.ft. and saves a very realistic $0.85/sq.ft. the savings alone would exceed $5 billion per year.
Imagine doing this on a global basis. The price is well worth it and may well be funded out of existing operating budgets.
I have faith that this industry can be transformed.
Climate Change Blog
June 05, 2007
Posted by johnsoncontrols at 05:54 PM | Permalink
| Comments (0)
| TrackBacks (0)
Climate Change topic category under construction. Contect coming soon.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
