Today, Legrand joined President Obama and Department of Energy officials in Washington, D.C. to announce the company has joined the Better Building, Better Plants Presidential Leadership initiative to create American jobs through energy efficiency.
Legrand is a manufacturer of electrical and data networking products for residential, commercial or industrial buildings. The company is one of just nine U.S. industrial organizations that have joined the initiative as Challenge Partners, pledging to the most aggressive energy savings, management and reporting practices outlined in a U.S. Department of Energy agreement.
By encouraging office and plant upgrades and renovations, the deployment of energy-saving solutions will boost local construction projects and expand opportunities for architects, design engineers, contractors and installers in communities throughout the U.S.
“People think energy-saving solutions are more complex than they are,” explained John Selldorff, president & chief executive officer of Legrand North America. “We hope to show our customers, suppliers and other mid-size manufacturers how to cut through the complexity with simple, repeatable solutions that are currently available to significantly reduce energy consumption. It can be as simple as controlling the lights to make sure they are off when not needed.”
The Better Building Challenge reporting requirements demand transparency and encourage replication of Challenge Partner projects across the U.S. economy.
“As other companies see what we do and deploy these ideas, they’ll realize energy and cost savings and, ultimately, spur more job creation in their own communities,” continued Selldorff.
As a Challenge Partner, Legrand has agreed to a series of high-impact actions that include:
- Reduce corporate wide energy intensity by 25% over ten years.
- Implement a “Showcase” project at a single site that will achieve a 10% energy intensity reduction in just two years.
- Deploy a “market innovation” that will accelerate achievement of energy efficiency gains.
- Report regularly on progress toward goals and lessons learned in deploying innovations and energy efficiency solutions.
Specific Legrand energy saving pledges and projects will be announced at a later date; however, the company is already installing sub-meters technology at 14 of its U.S. offices, manufacturing plants and warehouses. The technology will allow Legrand to instantly measure energy use, determine where greater efficiencies can be achieved through lighting and plugload management, and identify other upgrades needed to achieve energy efficiency goals. BD+C
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Editorial
The AEC industry shares a widespread obsession with the new. New is fresh. New is youthful. New is cool. But “old” or “slightly used” can be financially profitable and professionally rewarding, too.
| Oct 13, 2010
Test run on the HP Z200 SFF Good Value in a Small Package
Contributing Editor Jeff Yoders tests a new small-form factor, workstation-class desktop in Hewlett-Packard’s line that combines performance of its minitower machine with a smaller chassis and a lower price.
| Oct 13, 2010
Prefab Trailblazer
The $137 million, 12-story, 500,000-sf Miami Valley Hospital cardiac center, Dayton, Ohio, is the first major hospital project in the U.S. to have made extensive use of prefabricated components in its design and construction.
| Oct 13, 2010
Thought Leader
Sundra L. Ryce, President and CEO of SLR Contracting & Service Company, Buffalo, N.Y., talks about her firm’s success in new construction, renovation, CM, and design-build projects for the Navy, Air Force, and Buffalo Public Schools.
| Oct 13, 2010
Hospital tower gets modern makeover
The Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tenn., expanded its D unit, a project that includes a 243,443-sf addition with a 12-room operating suite, a 36-bed intensive care unit, and an enlarged emergency department.
| Oct 13, 2010
Modern office design accentuates skyline views
Intercontinental|Exchange, a Chicago-based financial firm, hired design/engineering firm Epstein to create a modern, new 31st-floor headquarters.
| Oct 13, 2010
Hospital and clinic join for better patient care
Designed by HGA Architects and Engineers, the two-story Owatonna (Minn.) Hospital, owned by Allina Hospitals and Clinics, connects to a newly expanded clinic owned by Mayo Health System to create a single facility for inpatient and outpatient care.
| Oct 13, 2010
Biloxi’s convention center bigger, better after Katrina
The Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi is once again open for business following a renovation and expansion necessitated by Hurricane Katrina.
| Oct 13, 2010
Tower commemorates Lewis & Clark’s historic expedition
The $4.8 million Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower in Hartford, Ill., commemorates explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark at the point where their trek to the Pacific Ocean began—the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
| Oct 13, 2010
Maryland replacement hospital expands care, changes name
The new $120 million Meritus Regional Medical Center in Hagerstown, Md., has 267 beds, 17 operating rooms with high-resolution video screens, a special care level II nursery, and an emergency room with 53 treatment rooms, two trauma rooms, and two cardiac rooms.
