HOW DID CANON U.S.A. SAVE $300,000 IN UTILITY FEES ?

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HOW DID CANON U.S.A.  SAVE $300,000 IN UTILITY FEES ?

Canon U.S.A. Implements Aggressive Energy-Saving Practices To Cut Energy Consumption by 2.7 Million Kilowatt-Hours ,Energy Conservation Program Focuses on Four Key Areas of Office & Facilities Management
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Jul 12, 2011 — Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced the results of an aggressive office energy savings program conducted in five U.S. office locations, including its Lake Success headquarters, resulting in reported savings of 2.7 million kilowatt-hours of energy from 2009 through 2010. Initially conceived in 2008, the energy-saving steps implemented across the five locations is equal to approximately $300,000 in utility fees over the two-year period, saving enough energy to power its Lake Success headquarters for four months.

As part of its ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability, the Company examined its energy practices at four U.S. regional office locations — Itasca, IL, Irving, TX, Jamesburg, NJ, and Irvine, CA, as well as its Lake Success, NY headquarters– to uncover areas where energy consumption could be improved, and implemented strategies to reduce consumption. Additionally, the Company expanded the scope of its environmental training to cover energy and resource consumption in the office, and to increase awareness of techniques that reduce energy, paper, toner and other materials.

To achieve its energy-saving goals, Canon U.S.A. focused on four key areas:

          1.  Energy-Efficient Lighting: Canon U.S.A. installed
              high-efficiency, low-carbon lighting, replacing thousands of light
              bulbs throughout its U.S. offices. The company also installed
              automatic switches that rely on motion sensors that switch off if
              a room is not in use. Select lighting was also removed,
              deactivated and/or reduced altogether in areas near sources of
              natural light (windows) and low-traffic areas (hallways).
          2.  New Computer Screens: The Company replaced more than 4,000
              cathode ray tube computer screens in its offices with energy
              efficient LCD monitors. Outgoing monitors were donated to local
              schools and charities, limiting waste and extending use of the
              products.
          3.  Energy Efficient Document Management: More than 550 personal
              printers were removed from service, and replaced with imageRUNNER
              and imageRUNNER ADVANCE multifunction devices. Canon installed
              uniFLOW printing software to manage its fleet of document output
              devices, a strategy the Company recommends to its own customers.
              Among a variety of workflow enhancing capabilities, uniFLOW has
              the ability to route print jobs to the most energy-efficient
              printer available, determined by establishing a baseline of energy
              consumption that measures paper, toner and power use of printers
              on the network. In 2010, the company saved more than 1.6 million
              sheets of paper by using duplex printing.
          4.  Operational Management Efficiencies: Canon limits the hours
              that its buildings are lit during the business week; staff staying
              late or working on weekends need to inform facilities if lighting
              is needed beyond allotted ‘lit hours.’ Unnecessary lights are
              automatically turned off after-hours based on the use of motion
              detectors in some areas.
       

"With such a strong commitment to environmental sustainability, the team at Canon U.S.A. is inspired to be green by implementing stringent measures to save energy and minimize our environmental footprint," said Joe Adachi, president and chief executive officer, Canon U.S.A., Inc. "We are happy to share our experiences and strategies for energy savings, to show others that taking measures to go green and protect the environment for future generations can have an enormous impact, both at home and in the office."

Canon U.S.A. is an ardent supporter of environmental and community enrichment campaigns. For years, Canon U.S.A. has supported a variety of programs, including the Canon Envirothon, Yellowstone Foundation, PBS/Nature Series and the Arbor Day Foundation. Canon works in voluntary partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to design products that meet the high standards of its ENERGY STAR(R) program. Similarly, Canon collaborates with the EPA’s WasteWise and SmartWay Transportation Partnerships to reduce the impact of our municipal solid waste and transportation activities. As one of the first companies to collect and recycle used copier toner cartridges, Canon U.S.A.’s Generation Green initiative combines the company’s latest environmentally-friendly printer products and solutions, promoting paper saving technology, minimized product packaging and energy saving measures. More than 800 Canon sites, including those in Canon U.S.A., are certified to the ISO 14001 standard. This internationally recognized standard provides organizations with a framework for developing effective Environmental Management Systems (EMSs). To learn more about Canon’s environmental initiatives, please visit: http://www.usa.canon.com/ecoprograms .

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July 13, 2011 at 9:07 AM