Better Buildings Initiative Partners: Nearly $22B In Energy Savings

Partners in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings program — including 28 Fortune 100 companies and more than 90 state and local governments — have collectively saved nearly $22 billion through efficiency improvements, according to a new report. These public and private sector partners also cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions by more than 220 million metric tons since 2011, an amount roughly equivalent to combined annual emissions of 29 million homes, according the “2024 Better Buildings Initiative Progress Report.”

Through the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE helps accelerate cost-effective decarbonization solutions across America’s commercial, industrial, and residential sectors to lower energy costs for American families and businesses while tackling the climate crisis.

“DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative is helping organizations of all sizes from every corner of the country and every sector of the economy lower energy costs and save money — to the tune of $22 billion,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, DOE will continue building the strong public-private sector partnerships we need to tackle the climate crisis and secure our clean energy future.”

Through the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE partners with public and private sector stakeholders to pursue portfolio-wide energy, waste, water, and/or emissions reduction goals. Program partners publicly share their solutions, enabling other organizations to replicate their success. By improving building design, materials, equipment, and operations, decarbonization progress can be achieved across broad segments of the nation’s economy.
 

2024 Better Buildings Initiative Highlights

Here are some highlights from the “2024 Better Buildings Initiative Progress Report”:

• Partners leading the way: More than 25 organizations reached their Better Buildings, Better Plants, or Better Climate Challenge goals in the past year while sharing their successful pathways for others to follow. Goal Achievers include Kohl’s Inc., Trane Technologies, The Chemours Company, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Nestlé USA, California State University, Channel Islands, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (Maryland), the City of West Palm Beach, Florida. See the full Goal Achiever list here.
• New solutions and pathways: More than 180 new successful solutions and examples have been shared in the past year. DOE is also finding new ways to showcase partner pathways including those of Goal Achievers, such as Cleveland-Cliffs and RXR Realty, so others can learn from their leading work.
• Accelerating commercial decarbonization: Through the Better Buildings Commercial Building Heat Pump Accelerator, DOE is working with leading manufacturers to produce higher efficiency and life cycle cost-effective heat pump rooftop units. Commercial sector partners will evaluate and adopt the next-generation technology, which could hit the market as soon as 2027. If deployed at scale, the technology could save American businesses and commercial entities $5 billion on utility bills every year.
• Removing barriers to decarbonization: Developed in partnership with more than 60 organizations across multiple sectors, DOE launched the Framework for GHG Emissions Reduction Planning to help organizations develop actionable plans for portfolio-wide decarbonization. Dozens of organizations are now using this tool and working with DOE to plan energy efficiency, electrification, and renewables projects across their portfolios.
• Reducing financing barriers: Financial Allies have extended more than $37 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects since the start of the program, enabling organizations to jumpstart their decarbonization and energy efficiency progress.
• Innovation through collaboration: Through Better Climate Challenge working groups DOE convenes partners to share insights, barriers, strategies, and action plans while offering support from technical experts at DOE and its National Labs. Recently completed working groups discussed GHG emission reduction audits and assessments, onsite renewables, and low-emission alternatives to industrial thermal loads. Registration is open now for working groups focusing on low-impact refrigerants, financial analysis for industrial decarbonization, and central plant decarbonization.
• Highlighting partner success: DOE visited another city as part of the Better Climate Challenge Road Show. This video series highlights partners as they work to reduce emissions. Cleveland, Ohio-area partners were featured including Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland-Cliffs, and the City of Cleveland.

Industrial Leadership In Action: 2024 Better Project Award Winners

• 3M cut steam use by more than 85,000 Mlbs and emissions by more than 4,000 MTCO₂e with a battery-less and wireless monitoring and communication system installed on 1,200 steam traps across a single facility.
• Intralox reduced the amount of waste produced in the runner of a highly utilized mold by over 60% by modifying the existing mold saving 115,000 lbs of plastic waste and $60,000 per year.
• The Chemours Company achieved over $1 million in annual savings on waste disposal costs by employing an intermediate distillation column without sacrificing quality or catalyst integrity.
• Nestlé Health Science’s Wisconsin nutritional drink factory saved more than 26 million gallons of water and 37 MTCO₂e annually with a reverse osmosis system.
• Nissan North America reduced compressed air electricity usage by 24%, or total facility energy consumption by 7%, by upgrading automated compressor controls at a powertrain facility.
• The Sherwin-Williams Company completed an onsite solar project with rooftop and carport arrays, reducing plant’s carbon emissions by 680 MTCO₂e annually.
• Trane Technologies reduced annual water use by 53 million gallons using thermal energy storage, heat pump technology, and advanced controls.
• PepsiCo Foods North America reduced emissions by 400 MTCO₂e per year at a single facility, or 8% of the plant’s annual GHG emissions, by replacing water cooled compressors with air-cooled compressors with heat recovery systems, eliminating the need for a cooling tower.
• FMC Corporation’s multi-stage cooling tower project improved energy efficiency by 75% and cut water use by 25% by involving rainwater harvesting and VFD installations.
• General Motors eliminated steam use and reduced carbon emissions by 30% by capturing waste heat from four electric generators used onsite.
• Volvo Group North America’s powertrain facility cut GHG emissions by 14% using renewable diesel (HVO100) for engine testing.
• HNI Corporation reduced natural gas consumption of paint ovens by up to 30% with new air curtains designed in-house.
• Waupaca Foundry, Inc. saved more than 1,600 MTCO₂e annually with “Smart Controls” for exhaust fans, improving workplace conditions and reducing gas usage.
• EnerSys reduced annual energy consumption at one of its plants by 20% after implementing an innovative production system that eliminated the need for an energy-intensive lead melting process while improving worker health and safety.

To learn more about DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative, visit the Better Buildings Solution Center.