GM India’s Talegaon Plant gets EPA recognition for energy reduction

December 5, 2012: General Motors India’s Talegaon manufacturing plant is one of 54 GM facilities worldwide to meet a voluntary energy-reduction challenge set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), cutting its energy intensity by 12 percent in less than two years to meet the EPA’s Energy Star Challenge for Industry Award.

To meet the criteria for this award, facilities need to reduce energy intensity by 10 percent within five years. The Talegaon manufacturing plant reduction avoided 4,419 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

“Our employees are committed to helping increase our global operations’ energy efficiency,” said Mike Robinson, GM’s vice-president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs. “They remain at the core of our progress. He said, "the total amount of energy savings across all GM manufacturing plants is $90 million and most of the plants are located in the US and Asian countries.”

Commenting on the Talegaon plant’s achievement, Lowell Paddock, president and managing director, General Motors India (pictured), said: “To achieve the challenge for industry award, our manufacturing plant used various innovative energy-saving strategies like adoption of energy efficient designs and technologies, optimisation of process parameters, usage of reliable process controls and lighting systems among other energy saving methods to reduce energy consumption. Through a diligent environmental process, we have instilled a sense of responsibility to the environment that goes beyond our location in India. GM India’s Talegaon plant aims to further reduce its environmental footprint by observing heating and cooling guidelines, efficient operation of heating equipment and through reducing or shutting down energy use during non-production period. “

GM, which received an Energy Star Partner of the Year award last year for energy management, reduced energy use in its global facilities by 28 percent between 2005 and 2010,and has since set a new goal to reduce 20 percent energy intensity globally by 2020.

It may be recalled that General Motors India received the third prize for energy conservation at the National Energy Conservation Awards 2010 in the automobile manufacturing sector. In 2011, the Talegaon plant bagged two awards in a State-level competition for excellence in energy conservation and management in the auto sector.