Jun 9 2009
United Technologies Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Louis Chenevert received a 2009 National Building Museum Honor Award for the company's energy efficient building products and for creating sweeping energy and environmental improvements in its manufacturing operations. The award was presented during a gala held in Washington, D.C. on June 4.
"The opportunity for improving energy efficiency in buildings is tremendous. Today, the building sector consumes about 40 percent of the energy used in the U.S. and is responsible for nearly 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions," said Chenevert in remarks delivered at event. "With products and technology available today, energy consumption in buildings could be cut by almost 70 percent. To put this in perspective, that's equivalent to eliminating the energy consumption of the entire U.S. transportation sector."
UTC's current building-product portfolio includes efficient heating and cooling systems, elevators that regenerate electricity, access control systems to efficiently manage resources, sustainable onsite power generation, environmentally responsible fire suppression systems, and custom customer-driven sustainable solutions.
Specific products include Carrier's new Evergreen cooling technology that delivers superior performance while using 40 percent less energy than current requirements, and Otis' ReGen elevators that consume up to 75 percent less energy than conventional models.
UTC's commitment to energy efficiency and environmental performance extends to its business and manufacturing operations. The company set its first environmental goals in 1992, and since 1997, has reduced energy use by 22 percent, water consumption by 50 percent.
UTC is a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The company has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index each year since it was launched in 1999 and has been named one of the world's 100 most sustainable companies each year since 2005 at the World Economic Forum in Davos by Corporate Knights.