Efficient Developments at Coca-Cola – 23% less energy consumption at HQ

By | April 23rd, 2007 1 Comment

coca-cola.pngI get a lot of press releases these days and always read them with a critical eye. Take this one from the Coca Cola Corp. It’s packed with great stuff – a fairly substantial re-tooling of their giant headquarters in Atlanta which is said to reduce energy consumption by 23% and water consumption by 15%. The added bonus: over a million dollars in savings annually.
The critic in me is starting to get triggered by this constant barrage of good news, when I think to myself – ‘gee, this is really just common sense stuff they’d be doing anyway, why not just throw on some green PR points as a bonus?’. But when you think about it, what’s really wrong with that? The fear is that the meaning of conservation and reuse gets lost in the PR-speak, but the reality is that impressive efficiency is still achieved and people find out about in a way that not only inspires them to do the same, but makes good business sense. A million dollars is a lot, and this sound’s like a good move by Coke. So I raise my glass of HFCS to them as an earth-day salute….

1 Comment

Categorized: Renewable Energy|

  • http://www.ecotality.com Janis Mara

    I’m totally on board with you on this one, my friend! Another good example is Pacific Gas & Electric, the major utility for Northern California. These guys were in the bottom of the ratings for customer service just a few years ago and were troubled with financial woes brought on by California’s 2000-2001 energy crisis.
    But, shazam! They’ve brought themselves up to No. 2 in customer service (this is for biz, not residential customers), are investing heavily in alternative energy sources such as solar and wind energy, have committed $1 billion over the next three years to energy-efficiency programs, and have the fourth-largest alternative fuel fleet of any utility in the country.
    Okay, it’s true that the first two things are mandated by law, but they’ve gone above and beyond what is required of them. Besides, as you said – the efficiency is still achieved, yes?
    Not surprisingly, PG&E went all out for Earth Day, granting $155,000 to the California State Parks Foundation to fund restoration. Okay, they trumpeted this just like Coca-Cola did their accomplishments, and milked it for all it was worth.
    But it still happened, nonetheless,, and the parks are in better shape now. So I”m with you, though I’ll raise my politically incorrect plastic water bottle instead ;-)
    Janis Mara
    http://www.ecotality.com