Energy Efficiency

Smart Energy Decisions celebrated Earth Week with the release of its second annual Sustainability Report, demonstrating a continued commitment to progress on initiatives across three key sustainability sectors: environmental, social, and governance.

Norfolk Southern Corporation set new goals to lower GHG emissions intensity 42% by 2034.

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host Debra Chanil speaks with Melissa Banks, Regulatory and Utility Advocacy Director at Trane Technologies, about the complex landscape of building decarbonization and sustainability. Banks discusses the increasing importance of regulatory compliance, utility incentives, and tax benefits in making energy efficiency projects financially viable for businesses and building owners. She explains the significance of understanding local utility incentives and shares examples of utility programs that offer substantial rebates for energy-efficient upgrades and emphasizes leveraging these incentives and working with experts to help maximize the financial benefits of their sustainability efforts — making the path to decarbonization both achievable and affordable.

Southwest Airlines Co. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop operational plans for electric air taxi networks.

Grainger, a broad line distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products serving businesses and institutions, announced the company lowered its global absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 31% since 2018 and achieved its previous 2030 target of a 30% reduction seven years early.

Emerson College, a higher education institution, announced it entered into a partnership to convert 100% of their heating operations by implementing a thermal energy solution.

Cummins Inc. announced the power solutions company achieved progress in its efforts to lower GHG emissions from its facilities and operations, reaching a 31% reduction of its Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions in 2023.

Select Water Solution, a provider of sustainable water management and chemical solutions, announced its efforts on lowering GHG emissions resulted in a 9% reduction in combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions intensity from 2022.

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a global medical technology company,  announced it has surpassed its Scope 1 and 2 science-based GHG emissions reduction targets for FY 2023 by 5 percentage points and received approval for near and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets from the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).

Google's 2024 Environmental Report provides an overview of the company's sustainability strategy, targets, and annual progress toward them. Among the highlights to explore are the company's efforts to harness technology — particularly AI — to drive positive environmental change and operate the business sustainably. And the challenges? Total GHG emissions increased 13% year-over-year in 2023, primarily driven by increased data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions.