Otis Elevators Makes ‘End to End’ Environmental Pledge

A $11.7 billion company billed as the world’s largest manufacturer of elevators, escalators and moving walkways has announced an umbrella program for its environmental initiatives.

The Way to Green program encompasses design, manufacturing, production and end-of-life recycling, and will significantly enhance the company’s commitment to the environment, the Otis Elevator Company said.

In announcing the initiative, Otis did not introduce any new targets or lay out specific actions that it will take to improve the company’s environmental impact. Instead, Otis outlined past achievements, which The Way to Green is to build upon.

These past initiatives include the introduction of Otis’s Gen2 elevator systems, which the company says reduce energy consumption by up to 75 percent compared to conventional systems. LED illumination is now standard on Gen2 systems, with an automatic switch-off mode that makes the lighting up to 80 percent more efficient than conventional options, Otis said.

The company has sold more than 200,000 Gen2 systems to date, making it the fastest selling product in Otis’s 158-year history. Gen2 systems are installed at Los Angeles International Airport, the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

In addition, ReGen drives on the company’s escalators reduce energy consumption by up to 60 percent, Otis said.

From 2006 to 2009, Otis reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 11 percent and water consumption by about 12 percent, the company said.

Otis is headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, employs 60,000 people and maintains over 1.7 million elevators and escalators worldwide. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.