Energy Efficiency Saves AT&T $44 Million
Telecommunications giant AT&T announced recently that 4,200 energy efficiency programs implemented at company facilities in 2010 will result in $44 million in annualized savings.
When in comes to energy efficiency upgrades, companies have to start spending money in order to start reducing bill costs proving the adage that it costs green to go green but the example set by AT&T could go a long way to convincing other companies to start saving energy with upgrades of their own.
There were several major changes that lead to AT&T’s notable savings:
– Incandescent light bulbs were replaced with LED bulbs at more than 1,100 sites.
– Network switches were removed at 11 central office sites, cutting network power consumption by more than 300,000 kilowatt hours.
– Power management software was installed on 169,000 computers, which alone resulted in $614,000 in annualized savings.
– An online energy management training program was launched for corporate real estate managers.
– Energy use was tracked and energy efficiency issues identified at the company’s top 500 energy-consuming facilities through the “Energy Scorecard,” a comprehensive performance-grading program rolled out in 2009.
– Participation in the EDF Climate Corps program, an Environmental Defense Fund initiative that helps companies reduce operational costs and emissions by identifying efficiency opportunities.
“The roll out of the energy scorecard and energy training program were key factors which enabled AT&T to achieve these significant energy savings,” said John Schinter, AT&T’s Director of Energy, in a statement.
Schinter said that participation in the Climate Corps program helped the company identify potential savings of 80 percent on lighting costs across more than 100-million square feet of space. “This underscores that a compelling business case for energy efficiency can be made at any company,” Schinter said.
Sources
AT&T Implemented 4,200 Energy Efficiency Projects in 2010 Resulting in an Annualized Energy Savings of $44 Million, AT&T press release, March 3, 2011.
AT&T Saves $44 Million With Green Upgrades, Forbes, March 9, 2011.
