Legrand's Going Green

Legrand, a global manufacturer of electrical and telecommunications products, recently reinforced their commitment to future goals of smart buildings and 'going green'. The company has previously been successfil in its participation of the Energy Departments' BBBP challenge (Better Buildings, Better Plants challenge), and is now lookiing to build upon this success moving forward. Legrand not only fully achieved every one of its goals for the BBBP challenge, but was also 1 of 2 companies recognized at the summit for doing so.

Aiming for another 25% energy reduction across all North America operations by 2022, Legrand released their new commitments to energy efficieny during the 2014 Better Buildings Summit - an event sponsored by the Energy Department to foster goodwill, communications and best practices behind industry leaders demonstrating the effectiveness and opportunity that energy efficiency can have.

In addition to being among the first manufacturers to meet their DOE challenge goals, Legrand has also publicly announced two additional goals to improve the company's operational sustainability: a 25% reduction in its water intensity, and a 40% reduction in landfill waste by 2022, both over the baseline year of 2012. These additional goals are to be achieved in tandem with the targeted energy intensity reductions.

As one of the largest manufacturers of electrical and data networking products for residential, commercial and industrial buildings in North America, Legrand was one of a select number of industrial companies to join the Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge in 2011. At that time, the company committed to a 25% energy intensity reduction within 10 years, but quickly exceeded that goal by achieving, a 32% reduction across 14 U.S. sites in just four years. The company has also fulfilled its pledge to reduce energy intensity by 10 percent in just two years at its dedicated showcase site — the company's 100-year-old, 175,000-square-foot facility and headquarters in West Hartford, Connecticut.

“In 2011, Legrand embarked on a voluntary partnership with the Energy Department, to reduce our energy intensity and we are thrilled with the progress we have made to date,” said Legrand, North America President and CEO John Selldorff. “We learned a lot, accomplished more than we would have expected, and are certainly gratified with the bottom line results and the positive environmental impact. But, we’re not satisfied and have therefore committed to further improvements.”

At the Summit, Energy Department representatives commended all Better Buildings, Better Plants partners for a steadfast commitment to reducing energy consumption.

“By committing to cut energy use, Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge partners are demonstrating how businesses and manufacturers are reducing our nation’s energy bill, creating American jobs, and protecting the environment,” said Dr. David Danielson, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. “With commitments representing more than 600 plants and facilities, these partners are leading the way to a cleaner energy economy.”

Susan Rochford, Vice President Energy Efficiency, Sustainability & Public Policy for Legrand, along with Selldorff, credit the company’s high level of success to a strategic three-pronged approach that focuses on a key combination of people, processes and technology.

“Participating in the Better Buildings, Better Plants Challenge has been an illuminating experience for Legrand, and we’re proud of the progress made thus far,” Rochford said. “The success we’ve enjoyed in improving our energy efficiency has motivated us to share our approach with our business partners. We do this by freely sharing the tools and resources we have employed at our company with other interested organizations. We have also been actively encouraging our own suppliers to follow in our footsteps. We are pleased to be working with DOE in their efforts to launch a BBBP Supplier Pilot Program, and are proud that a number of our own suppliers are stepping forward to join DOE’s new initiative.”

The Better Buildings Challenge is a national leadership initiative launched by President Obama in 2011 with the goal of making American commercial and industrial buildings 20% or more energy efficient by 2020. The Better Buildings Challenge supports President Obama’s broader goal of doubling American energy productivity by 2030 while motivating corporate and public sector partners across the country to save energy through commitments and investments.

For a detailed progress report on the Better Buildings Challenge and to find more about the Challenge participants and their energy efficiency projects, visit: http://www4.eere.energy.gov/challenge/.

For more information about how Legrand's energy efficient technologies could benefit your facility, or for questions concerning telecommunications products in general, contact your local Accu-Tech representative today!