J&J On Track To Meet 2010 Climate Goal

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has cut emissions at its company-owned and larger leased facilities by 9 percent between 1990 and 2008, a period in which its worldwide sales have grown by more than 400 percent.

Though the company is currently meeting its goal of reducing emissions by 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2010, emissions increased in 2008. Its carbon footprint, which includes 364,000 metric tons of carbon offsets, grew 3.3 percent in 2008 compared to the year before, the company said in its 12th sustainability report published last week.

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"We fully anticipate meeting our 2010 goal, despite challenges such as reducing our absolute emissions while our business is growing and financially justifying energy-reduction projects when energy prices are down," the report said.

The company has a $40 million carbon dioxide reduction capital fund to pay for reducing its emissions. As of late 2008, 61 energy-reduction projects were approved through its capital funding process, 45 of which were completed between 2005 and 2008. Seventeen projects focused on energy efficiency, followed by 15 chiller upgrades. The remaining projects include cogeneration, solar, HVAC, boiler upgrades, biomass, and wind. The $124 million in capital put toward these projects will generate a 17.2 percent average rate of return. In 2008, 34 percent of its electricity was derived from renewable sources.

J&J didn't include fleet emissions in its worldwide emissions figure because it doesn't have an adequate degree of precision in the measurements. The company sports the largest commercial hybrid fleet in the U.S. with more than 2,100 in service, or about 20 percent of its U.S. fleet.

Article continues: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/07/28/jj-on-track-meet-2010-climate-goal