SC Johnson Sustainability Report: GHGs Up 3%

SC Johnson energy mix

by | Nov 8, 2013

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SC Johnson GHGsSC Johnson’s greenhouse gas emissions rose three percent between 2011 and 2012, a 1.8 percentage point change versus its 2000 baseline – but the company says the addition of two US wind turbines is set to put it back on track.

In its 2013 sustainability report, SC Johnson admits it fell “a little short” last year as it pursues a 10 percent emission reduction for the 2011-2016 period. This goal is equivalent to a 48 percent reduction by 2016 from a 2000 baseline, building on a 42 percent reduction achieved in 2011.

But the company’s data presentation is a bit selective – it does not give us the 2000 baseline figure, or present results for the years 2001 to 2010.

The company says results for 2013 (which it hasn’t yet published) are “tracking in the right direction,” with emissions down significantly versus projections. This is due in part to the company bringing two 425-foot-tall wind turbines online at its largest manufacturing facility, in Waxdale, Wisc., last December. Combined with the cogeneration systems already in place, the facility is now able to generate, on average, 100 percent of its electrical energy onsite.

The 2013 emissions drop is also attributable to additional wind energy purchases. For example, in June, SC Johnson initiated a wind power purchase agreement for its factory in Toluca, Mexico, which will increase the plant’s use of renewable electricity by 65 percent, to about 86 percent of consumption, and will cut GHGs by 57 percent.

In 2013, SC Johnson increased by 50 percent the wind power it buys from a wind farm near its Bay City, Mich., plant, which produces Ziploc bags. This increases the wind power purchases’ avoided annual greenhouse gas emissions from 28,000 to 42,000 metric tons per year.

The company’s goal is to get 33 percent of total energy globally from renewable sources by 2016. Last year its percentage held steady at 30 percent, but it expects the proportion to rise for 2013.

SC Johnson has invested in 10 major renewable energy initiatives around the world over the last decade. The company says it is pursuing biofuels in Indonesia and solar energy in China, and is exploring a biomass initiative that may launch in the coming year.

SC Johnson renewables

Report overview

SC Johnson, whose brands include Glade, Off!, Pledge, Raid, Shout, Windex and Ziploc, is in its 22nd year of publicly reporting progress on its sustainability objectives. This edition covers activity since July 2012 except where otherwise noted.

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