SC Johnson launched its first owned and operated windmill at its Europlant in Mijdrecht, the Netherlands, its largest European manufacturing plant. This US$4.7 million (approx. euro 3.3 million) investment champions both the company and the planet. It also adds to SC Johnson's strategic array of clean energy projects designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and further drive the company's voluntary GHG emissions goals. Also thanks to the unveiling of its new wind turbine, it is now able to promote international use of wind-powered energy.
"This wind turbine helps SC Johnson continue to reduce our emissions and energy use," said Fisk Johnson, chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. "What's even more important is the end result – a better environment today and for future generations. And hopefully what we've accomplished here will create some momentum and inspire other global companies to follow suit with their own energy improvements."
The Power of 110,000 Trees
The 262-foot (80-meter) tall wind turbine will generate 66 percent of the electricity needed to power SC Johnson's Europlant, preventing 3,930 metric tons (3,930,000 kilograms) of GHG annually. This is equal to planting 110,000 seedlings or saving 30 acres of forest. Equally as impressive, the company expects to produce roughly 6.1 million kilowatt hours of green electricity annually and reduce Europlant's electricity demand from the local grid by 45 percent per year.
These efforts build on SC Johnson's commitment to prevent GHG and drive carbon reductions worldwide. Since 2000, the company has reduced its GHG from its top factories by 42 percent. SC Johnson continues to drive further reductions with wind-generated, co-generated energy and other renewable sources.
Connected to the local electrical grid, the turbine will supply energy to the three million square-foot manufacturing site. The plant manufactures Brise air fresheners, Mr. Muscle oven cleaners, Pledge furniture care dust cloths, Shout stain removers and Toilet Duck among other well-known consumer products. This facility supplies 30 countries across Europe and around the world, including France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
A Tradition of Environmental Innovation
This initiative in the Netherlands follows a succession of recent SC Johnson ventures that make use of renewable energies around the world. In 2008, SC Johnson signed a five-year deal with Spartan Renewable Energy in the United States to supply wind power from the Harvest Wind Farm in Michigan. This effort is helping power SC Johnson's Bay City, Mich., operations where Ziploc is produced, and cutting 29,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide while providing 46 percent of its electricity.
By 2005, SC Johnson made a multimillion U.S. dollar investment in a co-generation project at its largest manufacturing plant near Racine, Wis. The co-generation system includes a gas compressor and turbine engine, which converts methane gas from a nearby landfill into electricity and steam to help run, heat and cool the facility. This process produces the daily load of electricity and more than half the plant's steam, and cuts 52,000 metric tons of GHG per year.
Additionally, one of the largest SC Johnson plants in Indonesia uses waste palm shells as a substitute for diesel fuel. A pioneer in renewable energy adoption, SC Johnson reported sourcing 38 percent of its global electricity from cleaner solutions in 2008.
About SC Johnson
SC Johnson is a family-owned and managed business dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, and insect control. It markets such well-known brands as Glade, Off!, Pledge, Raid, Scrubbing Bubbles, Shout, Windex and Ziploc in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including Autan, Baygon, Brise, Echo, Kabikiller, Klear and Mr. Muscle. The 123-year-old company, with more than $8 billion in sales, employs approximately 12,000 people globally and sells products in more than 110 countries.
