Case Study 2 - General Electric Company

General Electric Co.

In the year 1876, Thomas Alva Edison opened a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where he could explore the possibilities of the dynamo and other electrical devices that he had seen in the Exposition. Out of that laboratory was to come perhaps the greatest invention of the age - a successful incandescent electric lamp. By 1890, Edison established the Edison General Electric Company by bringing his various businesses together. In 1892, the Edison General Electric Company merged with one of its long time competitior The Thomson-Houston Company. From then on, the organization is known till today as the General Electric Company.

Today, GE's leaders through the years have built a diverse portfolio of leading businesses; a stream of powerful Company-wide initiatives that drives growth and reduces cost; financial strength and Controllership that allow it to capitalize on opportunities through numerous cycles; and a set of common values that allows it to face any environment with confidence.

General Electric Company also recognizes the critical importance of social responsibility and the environment which have the potential to be affected by its products and processes. GE places an emphasis on clean energy and energy efficiency, on scarcity and the rise of regulatory pressure. The CEO of GE, Mr. Immelt later came out with a theme, making GE the big company best known for espousing greenness. So far, “Green is green” has become a company mantra. And GE was among the ten companies that launched the United States Climate Action Partnership. The platform for which GE was able to be green was through promoting green products by its Ecomagination initiative

The world's environmental challenges presented an opportunity for GE to do what GE does best: imagine and build innovative solutions that will benefit its customers and society. Ecomagination to GE is a vision and commitment to harness their global capabilities, technology leadership and market knowledge to take on some of the world's toughest problems as well as to accelerate company growth while doing so. GE believes that through Ecomagination an environmentally driven business strategy can benefit society as well as our bottom line.

To realize this initiative, GE has established several commitments. Its first commitment is to double their investment in R&D. GE is investing in tomorrow's energy technologies, to allow it to explore continuous improvement of existing products while searching for the next big breakthrough. One example can be found in the area of water use and purification, where GE scientists are investigating new membrane materials and innovative advanced separation technologies. These allow for further treatment and better performance of on-site wastewater reuse and recycling for the industrial, agriculture and municipal sectors. Its second commitment is to increase revenues from its Ecomagination product. GE's ecomagination initiative is founded on a solid business strategy: to increase revenues for GE by providing solutions for customers that help improve their operating performance and environmental impact. To ensure ecomagination products are met with the highest degree of integrity, every prospective product is evaluated against an eco-performance metric called the Ecomagination Product Review scorecard. This metric assures that the products can significantly improve the environmental performance, operating performance or value proposition of our customers.

Its third commitment is to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. GE has pledged to reduce its emissions and improve the energy efficiency of its operations in three ways. They will reduce absolute emissions 1% by 2012, reduce the intensity of these emissions 30% by 2008, and will improve energy efficiency 30% by the end of 2012. In ways big and small, GE has already identified many opportunities to help meet its energy targets. Some of these include adding solar panels to more than 20 GE facilities, including GE headquarters, and the launch of a company-wide eCO2 Site Certification program to promote and reward imaginative solutions for greenhouse gas reductions. Its final and fourth commitment is to keep the public informed about its Ecomagination initiative through websites, Ecomagination reports and to be as transparent as possible in its Ecomagination processes. The picture shows GE’s aviation engine upgrade which is energy saving and emits less greenhouse gasses for commercial planes.

Another significant milestone for GE was for being named as an ENERGY STAR(R) Partner of the Year for its commitment to making and selling energy-efficient products that save consumers money on energy bills by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). GE Lighting has been honored for its leadership in manufacturing and promoting products that carry the ENERGY STAR label. The company has also kicked off its "GE and You...Saving America Energy Campaign" to promote energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, as well as the new GE Lighting Auditor (GELA) -- which is an online tool that quickly and simply measures the following three elements of lighting in a home, school or business:
1. The dollars currently being spent on energy;
2. The total dollars that could be saved by using energy-efficient products;
3. Which energy-efficient, replacement light bulbs should be used.
To conclude, General Electric Company has also taken steps to be greener and energy efficient in their processes and activities. The Ecomagination initiative has contributed and is still contributing towards the betterment of the society as well as the environment through its products.

Case Study 1 - Applied Materials Inc

Appiled Materials Inc.

Applied Materials, Inc. (*Nasdaq: AMAT) is the global leader in nanomanufacturing technology solutions with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass. At Applied Materials, we apply nanomanufacturing technology to improve the way people live.

Founded in 1967, Applied Materials creates and commercializes the nanomanufacturing technology that helps produce virtually every semiconductor chip and flat panel displays in the world. The company recently entered the market for equipment to produce solar arrays and energy efficient glass. Applied Materials service products improve yield enhancement and increase nanomanufacturing productivity. The company’s vision is to apply nanomanufacturing technology to improve the way people live. Applied Materials also has the mission To lead the nanomanufacturing technology revolution with innovations that transform markets, create opportunities, and offer a cleaner, brighter future to people around the world.

Applied Materials recognizes the critical importance of social responsibility and the need to be a leader in the places that they do business. Through both its core business and community efforts, the company experiences the profound impact that they can have on improving the quality of life in its communities. This company believes by donating their time, energy and resources where they can do the most good, they are collectively acting upon the beliefs that making a positive social contribution is defined not only by who they are, but by what the company does. Applied Materials added an exciting element to its commitment to the environment in 2006 by announcing its entry into the solar photovoltaic equipment market. The company’s solar strategy is to bring significant change to the industry by enabling lower cost-per-watt solutions for solar cell manufacturing —with the goal of making solar power a significant alternative source of global energy. Applied Materials continues to expand its clean energy efforts, with its first solar production line announcement, followed by its purchases of clean, renewable energy and a 1.9 megawatt solar installation.

Among Applied Materials Inc’s corporate social responsibility milestones include the company’s solar strategy where Applied Materials will provide a combination of manufacturing tools, together with technology and process innovations from the flat panel and semiconductor industries, that are expected to enable customers to increase conversion efficiency and yields, helping to lower the overall cost per watt for solar electricity users. The picture below shows the photovoltaic solar panels that Applied Materials Inc will be dealing with.

Applied's solar strategy includes significantly driving down the overall cost-per-watt, ultimately providing increased and more affordable access to solar. Several recent programs worked to raise awareness of solar as a viable renewable energy alternative. One of Applied Materials Inc’s activities towards promoting solar power was partnering with Santa Clara University and The University of Texas at Austin, Applied is supporting solar decathlon teams at each school. The decathlon, which takes place in Washington, D.C. in October, is an international competition between 20 teams that have spent the summer getting ready to compete in designing, building and operating a completely solar-powered house.

The general concept of harnessing solar energy and to use it is shown in the below diagram.

The process starts from solar rays entering the solar panels then going through the inverter and circuit breaker to ultimately produce electricity. For domestic use, consumers will attach solar panels on the roofs and the process will be as what it is stated. A diagram is included to show how solar energy is used to power home appliances.

Other milestones of Applied Materials Inc’s corporate social responsibility activities include by applying creative thinking, philanthropic funding and volunteer power to environmental concerns. Applied Materials demonstrates its commitment to creating a more sustainable future while reducing carbon footprint around the world. Applied was a silver sponsor for the Living Green Environmental Awareness Concert held in Hillsboro, Oregon, on Sept. 8. With a focus on raising awareness of environmental issues, the concert provided the 10,000 attendees with access to educational materials. Concert-goers visited more than 60 booths centered on environmental consciousness and listened to15 featured bands, which all played tributes to the late environmental pioneer and musician John Denver.

Also for the first time, Applied went green during the SEMICON West trade show held in San Francisco, Calif. Partnering with Carbonfund.org, Applied worked to offset carbon emissions caused by the SEMICON booth by purchasing 100 tons of carbon offsets such as renewable energy. Plans are in the works to continue this practice at all upcoming trade shows.In Rehovot, Israel, the Process Diagnostics and Control group celebrated its 10-year anniversary with "Seeds of Growth.” Employees planted a large, organic vegetable garden near the Applied campus. In collaboration with local after-school centers, economically-disadvantaged students will learn how to maintain the garden and harvest its produce.

All in all, Applied Materials Inc has really taken the initiative to contribute to the environment and to the society by being socially responsible. It now has a Solar Strategy to help minimize wastage and costs and also to make it more accessible to consumers at affordable rate. Hence, it is with great hope that local companies can too emulate Applied Material’s footsteps to do their part for the society and the world.

Articles Discussion

A number of articles regarding CSR and the environment were collected. The article “Consumers demand greener products and companies are responding” by KC Jones courtesy of Electronics Supply & Manufacturing wrote that eighty percent of consumers believe it is important to buy from green companies, and most responded that they would spend more on green products. The demographics of people who are most environmentally aware are different in the United States and the United Kingdom. American consumers most inclined to buy green products are younger, female, and earn around $50,000 annually. In the United Kingdom, the most environmentally friendly consumers are generally older, male, and highly educated. A similar study conducted in 2006 found that most U.S. consumers were unfamiliar with the concept of green brands and products, as well as how their behaviors impacted the environment. Russ Meyer, chief strategy officer of Landor Associates, said that consumers are changing behaviors to limit negative impacts on the environment. Even people who do not consider themselves "green" tend to equate "green" products with higher quality, according to the report. Whether it's a matter of survival or ideology among corporate leaders, several technology companies are responding to increasing consumer and shareholder demands for greener products and practices. Some have launched green marketing campaigns, several have touted energy-efficient servers, and many promote take-back programs for recycling and reuse. IBM and Apple Computers have started to modify their manufacturing process to be more environmentally friendly. Also, Lenovo tops the list for environmental performance among technology companies. Rankings are based on measurements of toxic wastes produced and recycling programs. Nokia, Dell, and Sony aren't far behind. Apple ranked at the bottom of the barrel before drawing praise for Jobs' declaration of greater commitment.
“For Future Generations” an article from The Sun dated May 7,2007 was on YTL Corp’s award for "Best Social Reporting in an Annual Report" at the ACCA Malaysia Environmental and Social Reporting Awards 2006. When asked about how YTL introduced CSR to the organization and winning buy-in from all staff , YTL said that its Climate Change activities organized recently has raised awareness among its staff. To achieve that, YTL also consistently improved all operations for example, carbon emission reductions in our water and power businesses. In addition, staffs at all levels are involved in reporting and updating. YTL also believes that doing business and CSR is a mutually exclusive concept where the group has always strived to operate in a sustainable manner and is constantly searching for innovative ways to encourage energy saving and to minimize the risk and glaringly visible effects of climate change.

In Panasonic’s 2005 sustainability report, Panasonic says that the company regards its approach to environmental consciousness throughout its business activities as one of its most important management challenges.In fiscal 2002, Matsushita devised an Environmental Vision and an action plan, the Green Plan 2010, which specify the goals of its environmental initiatives on a global consolidated basis. Each business division is making steady efforts to achieve the group-wide goals. In fiscal 1999, Panasonic completed the establishment of environmental management systems at each of our manufacturing sites around the world, and we are currently introducing these systems at non-manufacturing sites. As of April 2005, 265 sites have acquired ISO14001 certification worldwide. To properly respond to changes in the business climate and in global environmental legislation, we established the Domain Environment Conferences tailored to business domains and the Regional Environment Conferences for each region; both of these conferences perform their work in coordination with the Corporate Environment Conference. This framework is designed to ensure that environmental sustainability management is based on the actual situations at operational fronts. In addition, we discuss relevant issues and formulate strategies at our group-wide management conferences, and implement measures based on swift decision-making, aiming to incorporate environmental sustainability management more fully into business activities.
In Annie Oon’s article “Green Energy Revolution: Energy Saving Devices” she writes that the world today is experiencing energy revolution. Environmental issues are catching up and with the increased emphasis placed on preserving the environment we all need to play our roles in saving energy. By saving energy, we can definitely take a positive step in fighting the climate change and in preserving non-renewable sources of energy. Let us look at some devices and measures that can help us conserve energy and replace non renewable sources with renewable sources of energy. Many companies are now providing customer-focused energy equipments like Energy savers, Utility Instruments, Level Controllers, Control Panels and Process Control Equipments etc. Various products are being sold in stores and that help in energy revolution and conservation. The benefits that can be achieved includes 75%-80% less use of electricity, reduced dependence on coal and petrol, reduction of gas and electricity bills and reduced emissions of green house gasses.
In Ed Charles’s article “Hot Air: Carbon Trading aims to control global warming by providing economic incentives. But does it work?” in CPA Australia’s magazine for winter 2007 writes that this concept in its purest form is that through regulation, companies are set targets for reductions in output of greenhouse gasses. If a company is under its target then it can sell part of its allocation to another company. The idea is that companies bettering its targets are rewarded while those failing to meet emission targets are fined. Ed Charles also writes that in April the UN announced that it will run a carbon trading scheme called the International Transaction Log that allows industrialized countries that have signed the Kyoto Protocol to trade allowances. One of the set backs of carbon trading schemes are that they are suffering from a credibility problem as there is little to regulate or audit their actual effectiveness. Critics say that carbon trading is simply an easy way for governments to meet targets and are attractive to financial promoters keen to create new trading markets.
In September 2007 last year, Nike unveiled first of its kind performance shoes designed for Native Americans. The shoe is a result of 2 years collaboration between Nike and the Native American community. This is another milestone in Nike's long-standing commitment to Native American communities. Profits from the sale of the Nike Air Native N7 will to support "Let Me Play" programs on Native American lands that leverage sport to promote an active and healthy lifestyle. The Nike Air Native N7 shoe also embraces Nike's considered design ethos, where details in the development and design of the shoe are geared to deliver sustainable innovation and reduce waste, without compromising product performance. The Considered design ethos also honors the traditional Native American Seventh Generation philosophy, an approach that respects the impact of decisions made today on seven generations. The shoe's design draws inspiration directly from Native American culture. The Nike Air Native N7 shoe also embraces Nike's Considered design ethos, where details in the development and design of the shoe are geared to deliver sustainable innovation and reduce waste, without compromising product performance. The Considered design ethos also honors the traditional Native American Seventh Generation philosophy, an approach that respects the impact of decisions made today on seven generations. The Nike Air Native N7 shoe and "Let Me Play" programs deepen Nike's long-term commitments to challenge and address some of the specific health and wellness issues that exist within Native American communities. A strong emphasis was placed on providing a performance product that would cater to the specific needs of Native American foot shapes and help provide motivation to Native Americans predisposed to, or suffering from, health issues that can be improved by leading physically active lifestyles. Creating a shoe designed in this way is another step in helping to promote and sustain physical activity and address health issues prevalent within the Native American community.
In Timberland’s CSR press release on September 2006, the articles discusses about Timberland’s setting of new standards for product transparency and their increased efforts to minimize environmental impacts. The company introduced new, environmentally-friendlier packaging for its footwear products and a product information label that details aspects of the company's environmental and community footprint. The new packaging and labeling was made available in stores in fall 2006 footwear.The packaging and labeling initiative further reinforces Timberland's environmental leadership among retail companies. The label informs consumers about aspects ofTimberland's environmental and community impact. Footwear boxes made of 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste fibers that use no chemical glues and only soy-based inks for the printing of labels. It also contains messages to consumer like “What kind of footprint will you leave?” .The next evolution in Timberland's labeling will be a "Green Index" hangtag, appearing on five Outdoor Performance products in February 2007. The "Green Index" will indicate to consumers an overall rating of the product based on the average of three specific categories which are climate ratings based on greenhouse gas emissions, chemical ratings based on chemicals and solvents used in production, and material ratings based on use of organic, renewable and recycled products. Each of these categories will be given a rating between zero and 10, with zero being best.
The article “Motorola Mobilizes 11,000 Employees to Volunteer in Their Communities on Global Day of Service” dated October 9th 2007 discusses about more than 11,000 Motorola employees in 47 countries joined forces to improve their local communities on the company’s second annual Global Day of Service. These employees took a half day off work to volunteer at more than 300 projects that address a variety of community concerns, including education, environmental sustainability and social services. Projects ranged from visiting a school for migrant workers' children in Chengdu, China, to manning a food bank in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, and landscaping at an orphanage in Krakow, Poland, to painting a school for the disabled in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At schools around the world, Motorola employees delivered an "introduction to engineering" course created by the company’s Women's Business Council with the aim of inspiring young people to pursue careers in science and technology. This clearly shows that Motorola cares about the communities it serves, and is using both their minds and muscles to show it. Thousands of employees also participated in in-office projects such as a global giving drive to benefit the United Nation Children's Fund's (UNICEF) School-in-a-Box program, which is used around the world to get children back to school in the first 72 hours of an emergency. Each kit contains supplies for a teacher and up to 80 students. Motorola’s efforts are certainly very socially responsible.
An article from Dell’s CSR news entitled “Dell Ahead of Schedule to Achieve Multi-Year Product Recycling Goal” discusses about Dell’s announcement about its ahead of schedule to achieve a multi-year goal of recovering 125 million kilograms (about 275 million pounds) of computer equipment by 2009. The company also renewed its worldwide challenge to computer manufacturers to offer free recycling to consumers. "Protecting the environment is too important an issue for one company to be leading alone," said Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell. Dell says that customers should not be forced into improper disposal due to a lack of environmentally responsible options. Therefore, to that end, Dell is renewing its challenge to every computer manufacturer, regardless of size or location, to join them in offering a free, global consumer recycling program. Among the key initiatives taken by Dell are free consumer recycling, reconnect program where Dell partners with Goodwill Industries to help consumers donate unwanted electronics of any brand for intake at Goodwill sites, asset recovery services and product donations where through a partnership with the National Cristina Foundation (NCF), Dell enables customers to donate any working computer system to non-profit organizations in their areas. NCF matches consumer donations to local not-for-profit organizations, public agencies and schools.
In another article of General Mills’ CSR press release dated May 2005, the article entitled “General Mills Champions(R) Grants Program” discusses about The General Mills Foundation and the American Dietetic Association Foundation, in partnership with the President's Challenge, have awarded 50 community groups and schools across the country with $10,000 grants that support innovative programs to help children develop lifelong nutrition and physical fitness habits. The program takes a grassroots approach that calls on community groups and schools to champion the future health of our young people by focusing on nutrition and fitness programs that can have a life-long impact. All 50 programs for the community groups have a fitness and nutrition component, and operate with the guidance of a dietetic professional. Since 2002, the General Mills Champions® Grants Program has invested more than six-million dollars in youth nutrition and fitness programs that have served more than 100,000 children across the country. This shows General Mills’ effort towards being socially responsible.

Component 1- Another 5 articles

According to the article written by Jennifer L. Schenker taken from the businessweek.com website dated December 7,2007, Royal Philips Electronics , Europe's largest electronics company has come out with new products due to well-timed acquisitions, rapid technology shifts, and growing interest in saving energy. The surprising fact is lighting accounts for about one-fifth of all electricity use—in part because traditional incandescent bulbs waste most of their energy in heat.
New solid-state alternatives made from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) burn cooler and can produce the same amount of illumination using, on average, 40% less electricity. With the global push to go green, that's a compelling savings—and it's driving surging demand for next-generation bulbs and fixtures. Philips reckons that Europe could meet its 2010 Kyoto carbon dioxide targets in one fell swoop if all traditional lighting were switched to energy-efficient alternatives. The energy saved would equate to 50 million barrels of oil per year. The promise of such large energy savings is starting to resonate with Philips' customers. In the first half of this year, sales of energy-efficient lighting products grew at twice the rate of the lighting division as a whole, and for the first time accounted for almost 50% of its sales.
Another company, Silicon Valley's Applied Materials (AMAT), the world leader in chip making equipment has been producing high-precision manufacturing gear for semiconductors and flat-panel displays for almost 40years. Now it's racing to sell specialized machines that churn out solar panels more cheaply and in higher volumes than ever before. The immediate goal is to drive down the cost-per-watt of solar electricity by at least 25%. "Applied has a history of using technology and smart engineering to lower cost and grow markets," says Chief Executive Mike Splinter. "We see a real opportunity to change the cost equation for solar power through adoption of our existing technology and new innovation."
Company like General Electric (GE) is also at the pace of producing energy saving devices. According to the article which was written by Matthew Boyle taken from FORTUNE 500 Magazine dated November 12,2007, General Electric's improvement is attributable almost entirely to its environmental efforts. The company's highly visible "ecomagination" campaign aims to more than double its annual research budget for cleaner technologies - like energy-efficient refrigerators and wind turbines_ from $700 million in 2005 to $1.5 billion in 2010.
Besides than producing energy saving devices, company like EPSON focus of the energy saving activities was switched from production equipment to facilities, which offered greater potential of energy savings. The company is dedicated to creating ‘green factory’ which is the new LCD fab at the Toyoshina Plant. Epson implements energy saving measures in each stage of the manufacturing process. This has the effect of eliminating waste since the beginning of the planning process. Using the experience Epson has gained from environmental innovations taken at other electronic device production facilities such as Suwa Minami Plant in Japan and Suzhou Epson Co., Ltd. In China, the new plant at Toyoshina has emerged as a model “green factory” that serves as an example for energy-saving manufacturing both inside and outside the Epson Group.
Unlike many plants, where electricity usage is considered as a total amount, the electricity requirements of the new plant have been individually measured and listed by process, and analyzed for energy saving potential. These calculations were not simply made for production equipment, but also for the energy used in plant facilities for powering air conditioning and water-cooling.
Hewlett Packard (HP) announced a variety of affordable, energy-efficient desk-based products and environmentally friendly features for business customers on Nov, 15 2006. Available today, the new HP Compaq dx2250 Desktop PC is a reliable, full-featured business computer featuring energy-efficient processors to help lower a customer’s total cost of ownership. HP also plans to offer 80 percent efficient power supplies on select desktop business PCs. The optional power supplies offer greater energy savings to customers and will allow HP to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently announced ENERGY STAR® 4.0 requirements in January 2007 – a full six months before the new guidelines take effect.
HP additionally announced a trade-in program to make it more affordable for customers to obtain thin client technology – which uses the lowest watt processors of any business computing option – while disposing of old technology in an environmentally responsible manner. “As the world’s largest PC manufacturer, HP understands there’s a lot at stake when it comes to energy efficiency, from the rising cost of resources to the environmental impact,” said Jeff Groudan, vice president, Business PC Marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP. “We continue to proactively design, develop and incorporate energy-saving technologies into our products.”
As part of HP’s commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its customers, partners and suppliers, the company works with industry and government groups to promote energy-saving programs and consistent global standards. For example, HP is the only major PC manufacturer to have 36 products registered at the Silver rating with EPEAT, an online procurement tool to help institutional purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. In addition to a broad lineup of full-featured business PCs, HP is also the industry’s fastest growing major thin client manufacturer. Thin clients offer improved security and manageability at a lower cost than traditional desktop PCs. And with just 9-watt processors, thin clients are also the most energy-efficient desktop client option.

Component 1- The First 5 articles

Some of the articles that I have found are related to companies like Greenfleet Car Service, Alliant Energy Integrated Services and HR Textron, General Motor and Daimler Chrysler, Toyota and AirAsia. These companies have a very similar purpose which is protecting the environment by using technology that can help to save the consumption of energy. The energy saving that these companies are focusing is the one which is obtained from the burning of fuel.
According to Woodly Maurice, President of Greenfleet Car Service, Greenfleet is dedicated to taking a leadership position in the ground transportation industry by using an all-hybrid fleet. Greenfleet Car Service is known for their quick and reliable car service, and with this partnership they are also helping to drive the transition to a clean energy future. Their mission is to provide a luxury hybrid car service while reducing CO2 emission. This company is at the same wavelength as other companies like General Motor and Daimler Chrysler as well as Toyota and Honda which are also involving in the production of hybrid cars. General Motors and DaimlerChrysler have announced that they are to collaborate to develop fuel-efficient hybrid technology to challenge the current supremacy of Japanese motor giants Toyota and Honda. The result is expected to be a series of strong hybrid propulsion systems that will serve as a solution for our alternative powertrain needs.
On the other hand, Toyota who is also working hard in the production of hybrid cars said that the car runs a combination of petrol and electric power, providing better environmental performance through reduced petrol consumption and lower overall emissions. Although the cars are using electric power to run, but at least it does use a better type of energy than using fuel consumption which will lead to pollution.
AirAsia Bhd has recently upgraded its fleet with the purchase of its firm 150 Airbus A320 plus 50 options earlier this year as part of its continuous effort towards delivering sustainable value to society via its various corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes and practices. The airline said that the brand new fleet of A320s was selected based on its improved design, which employs fuel-saving aerodynamic design resulting in an environmentally responsible aircraft in offering the lowest fuel-burn, emissions and noise in its class. Moreover, the company has also begun a programme of attachment through employee involvement with Formula One Team AT&T Williams recently to bring the airlines closer to the technology of Formula One. Through the programme, AirAsia said that it was looking into making transport more environmentally friendly in terms of fuel consumption, emissions and noise, while still responding to today’s global economic need for transport. The Group Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Tony Fernandes said that putting the initiative under their CSR practices will help to develop sustainable human resources to take the airlines to the next level.
For Alliant Energy Integrated Services and HR Textron, they are the recipients of a 2002 Energy User News Efficient Building Award for their energy conservation work at HR Textron in Valencia, Calif. The award was presented in conjunction with the World Energy Engineering Congress in Atlanta. Alliant Energy Integrated Services, headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a diversified energy and environmental engineering company of Alliant Energy (NYSE:LNT), a growing energy company based in Madison, Wis. Alliant Energy Integrated Services provides energy consulting, on-site generation and energy infrastructure, energy procurement and environmental engineering and construction management services for commercial, industrial, institutional, educational and government customers. HR Textron is a high tech aerospace and defense manufacturer in Southern California. The company is highly regarded for its competence in electromechanical, pneumatic, fuel and motion control systems and components as well as hydraulic systems.
Energy User News magazine recognizes select industry projects throughout North America that exemplify excellence and innovation in energy efficiency and building management each year. The energy conservation initiative at HR Textron was named this year's "Best Manufacturing Project." Amidst the California energy crisis, Alliant Energy Integrated Services' staff worked to implement a variety of energy conservation measures at the HR Textron facility -- enhanced pumping strategies, new chillers, back-up generation, lighting control systems and more. The work was completed in December 2001.

The Story...

Some of the energy we can use is called renewable energy. These include solar, wind, geothermal and hydro. These types of energy are constantly being renewed or restored.
But many of the other forms of energy we use in our homes and cars are not being replenished. Fossil fuels took millions of years to create. They cannot be made over night.
And there are finite or limited amounts of these non-renewable energy sources. That means they cannot be renewed or replenished. Once they are gone they cannot be used again. So, we must all do our part in saving as much energy as we can.

In your home, you can save energy by turning off appliances, TVs and radios that are not being used, watched or listened to.
You can turn off lights when no one is in the room.
By putting insulation in walls and attics, we can reduce the amount of energy it takes to heat or cool our homes.
Insulating a home is like putting on a sweater or jacket when we're cold...instead of turning up the heat.
The outer layers trap the heat inside, keeping it nice and warm.
New space-age materials are being developed that insulate even better. This person's fingers are protected by Aerogel Insulation Material created by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The person cannot even feel the flame!

Recycling to make all of our newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other goods takes lots of energy.
Recycling these items -- grinding them up and reusing the material again -- uses less energy than it takes to make them from brand new, raw material.
So, we must all recycle as much as we can.
We can also save energy in our cars and trucks.
Make sure the tires are properly inflated.
A car that is tuned up, has clean air and oil filters, and is running right will use less gasoline.
Don't over-load a car. For every extra 100 pounds, you cut your mileage by one mile per gallon.
When your parents buy a new car, tell them to compare the fuel efficiency of different models and buy a car that gets higher miles per gallon.

You can also save energy in your school.
Each week you can choose an energy monitor who will make sure energy is being used properly.
The energy monitor will turn off the lights during recess and after class.
You can make "Turn It Off" signs for hanging above the light switches to remind yourself.
You can make sure your classmates recycle all aluminum cans and plastic bottles, and make sure the library is recycling the newspapers and the school is recycling its paper.

Low Energy Vehicle

A Low-energy vehicle is any type of vehicle that uses less energy than a regular vehicle. The higher efficiency can be achieved by changing the vehicle's design, and/or by modifying its powertrain. The biggest influence on the fuel consumption is not the engineering quality but the vehicle specification such as top speed, safety reserves and load capacity. This is explained by the physical relations later in this article.

Energy consumption as low as 5-12.5 kWh/100km (180-450 kJ/km) is achieved directly by battery electric microcars. The energy efficiency of the power generation has to be considered however - geothermal, solar or hydraulic power have the best ratio- caloric the worst.Overall energy generation and distribution efficiency for Europe is about 40%,so the overall energy consumption of electric cars lies in the range 0.45 to 1.1 MJ/km. Looking to the year 2050, consumption levels of 1.6 l/100 km (0.64 MJ/km) in diesel-fuelled cars and 2 l/100 km (0.7 MJ/km) in petrol-fuelled cars are deemed feasible.The energy consumption figures for petrol and diesel cars should be increased by 18% to represent the oil used in processing and distributing oil-based fuel, to 0.75 MJ/km for diesel, and 0.82 MJ/km for petrol.

Technological support for low energy operation may also come from driver assistance systems since driving style can be adapted to achieve lower energy consumption. Energy management becomes possible with hybrid vehicles with the possibility to recuperate braking energy and to operate the (ICE) at higher efficiency on average. Hybrid power trains may also reduce the internal combustion engine ICE-engine size thus increasing the average load factor and minimising the part load losses.

Purely electric vehicles use up to 10 x less energy (0,3 to 0,5MJ/km)than those with combustion engines (3 to 5MJ/km and up to 10MJ/km for SUVs) because of the much higher motor and battery efficiencies. Maximum ranges are improving with new LiIon electrochemical storage batteries. Criticism about grid generation efficiency does not reflect that combined heat and power production has efficiencies of about 80% and it is easier to burn biofuels in thermal power plants than to produce biofuels out of them by GTL or FT-methods. It is not likely that purely IC powered vehicles will match the energy efficiency of EVs especially in transient operation. Hybrid electric vehicles will have to reduce the IC-size to beat them.