Carton Companies Save $1.8 Million Via Efficient Lighting

The Independent Carton Group (ICG), an association of 17 independently owned and operated folding carton companies, announced that its members have achieved significant monetary savings and environmental benefits as a result of the group’s energy efficiency program with Efficient Lighting Consultants (ELC). ICG member companies that implemented energy-efficient lighting solutions in their manufacturing facilities, warehouses and offices through ELC and various other means are collectively saving in excess of $1.8 million in electricity costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 18.1 million pounds annually, according to ICG.

ICG’s members were able to tap into ELC’s expertise in auditing energy consumption, devising conservation strategies, leveraging energy incentives and implementing technologies that provide for the immediate reduction of energy usage – while remaining within members’ current utility budgets.

ICG members, many of which have multiple locations, worked directly with ELC to create a custom plan for their facilities and install new energy-efficient lighting. Also, members that had already installed efficient lighting prior to the ICG program enlisted ELC to perform a lighting audit and implement any additional measures that would provide for further gains in energy efficiency.

The members’ annual savings amounts to over 16.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity, the equivalent to over 8.4 million pounds of coal and nearly 1.1 million gallons of oil not burned, or the amount of fossil fuels needed to provide 1,976 homes with electricity for one year. ICG members have also helped reduce air pollution and improve air quality by decreasing their greenhouse gas emissions, annually avoiding 33,383 pounds of sulfur oxides, 8,906 pounds of nitrogen oxides and over 18 million pounds of carbon dioxide, according to ICG.

ICG recently extended the program to its designated vendors, encouraging them to utilize ELC in support of their own energy efficiency initiatives.