GE taps grassroots for GHG reductions

I recently reported on GE’s progress in meeting its internal environmental goals as part of its Ecomagination push. That report explains the myriad products and programs that GE is using to address sustainability, but I wanted to find out more about what they’ve done at the plant level for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions.

Late last week, I got the chance to do a phone interview with a couple of GE managers involved in the company’s internal GHG reduction efforts to find out more about plant-level efforts. Rob Howell, global environmental programs lead for GE’s consumer and industrial products business, and Keith Mooneyhan, general manager of Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) for GE’s consumer and industrial, as well as its enterprise solutions businesses, both said GE relies on grassroots ideas and involvement to determine what should be done to improve the company’s carbon footprint across its many sites. Rather than centrally dictate what projects should be done, the GE way is to organize efforts called Treasure Hunts to find out what can be improved at particular sites.

The Treasure Hunts are conducted by a cross-functional team of people from each site, along with help from company experts in sustainability. There were about 200 Treasure Hunts last year, some of which GE has highlighted in its Web site.

“Most of our reductions have not been through any one thing, but through multiple events that have occurred that have not only delivered emissions reductions but also cost savings,” says Mooneyhan. Among the common culprits, he says, are conditions such as leaky air compressors and lights or fans that are on when they don’t have to be. “Things creep into your system that lead to greenhouse gas emissions or energy waste. Most of what we’ve been able to achieve has been through these grassroots movements.”

Howell says the Treasure Hunts feature a walk-through by the cross-functional improvement team, made when production is down to avoid distractions.  “We’ll simply walk through the facility and observe the state of things,” he says. “You’ll find bathrooms with the lights on when no one is around, or fans running at workstations. It’s also a good time to identify where we may have leaks in air lines, because we don’t have  the noise of production.”

Of course, GE sometimes opts for bigger ticket  improvements, such as using some of Jenbacher engines at sites in Hungry, or making some facilities LEED certified for energy efficiency. However, the company’s Treasure Hunts are another example of the type of bottoms-up, low-cost sustainability tactics that have become the cornerstone of many companies internal green efforts.