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Greening the Bottom Line 2012 California Companies Save Money by Reducing Global Warming Pollution Greening the Bottom Line 2012 California Companies Save Money by Reducing Global Warming Pollution Bernadette Del Chiaro and Nicholas Matthews Fall 2012 Acknowledgments Environment California Research & Policy Center sincerely thanks the many individuals, companies and institutions who generously provided information for this report, including: Cassie Cyphers, Elysa Hammond, and Dean Mayer at Clif Bar; David Comora and Brian Kelley at Fortistar; Laura Hamman at Gills Onions; Andy Alvarado at Golden Valley Unified School District; Arlene Calibo and Karen Powell at San Mateo County Community College District; David Brown at the Sonoma County Family YMCA; Gary Gerber at Sun Light and Power; Rick Brown at TerraVerde Renewable Partners; Virginia Lew at California Energy Commission; the Los Angeles Business Council Institute; Brad Cox of Trammell Crow/CBRE; Sarah Shaw of Constellation Place; and Ned McKinley, Ryan Welsh, and Mick Wasco with the United States Marine Corps. Additional thanks to Travis Madsen of the Frontier Group for his early strategic advice and editing support, and Buck Doyle for his research assistance. The generous financial support of the Arntz Family Foundation, the Energy Foundation, the Michael Lee Environmental Foundation, the Sidney Stern Memorial Trust, and the Tilia Foundation made this report possible. The authors alone bear responsibility for any factual errors. The recommendations are those of Environ- ment California Research & Policy Center. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or those who provided review. Copyright © 2012 Environment California Research & Policy Center. Environment California Research & Policy Center is a 501(c)(3) organization. We are dedicated to protecting California’s air, water and open spaces. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public and decision makers, and help Californians make their voices heard in local, state and national debates over the quality of our environment and our lives. For copies of this report, see our website at www.environmentcalifornia.org, or send $20 per copy to: Environment California Research & Policy Center 3435 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 385 Los Angeles, CA 90010 For more information about Environment California Research & Policy Center, please visit our website at www.environmentcalifornia.org, call our main office at (213) 251-3688, or e-mail us at info@environ- mentcalifornia.org. Layout: Harriet Eckstein Graphic Design Cover photo credits: (top row, l to r) Gills Onions, Gills Onions, Cupertino Electric, Inc., MCAS Camp Pendleton; (middle row, l to r) San Mateo County Community College District, SolarCity, Clif Bar; (bottom row, l to r) MCAS Miramar, Gills Onions, Cupertino Electric, Inc, Foundation Windpower. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 5 Gills Onions – Oxnard 7 Golden Valley Unified School District – Madera 9 Anheuser-Busch InBev – Fairfield 11 Sonoma County Family YMCA – Santa Rosa 13 San Mateo Community College District – San Mateo County 15 Marine Corps Air Station Miramar – San Diego 18 Marine Corps Base and Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton – San Diego County 21 Clif Bar – Emeryville 23 Century Plaza Towers – Los Angeles 26 Constellation Place – Los Angeles 28 Conclusion and Recommendations 30 Notes 33 Greening the Bottom Line California Companies Save Money by Reducing Global Warming Pollution Anheuser-Busch InBev Fairfield Sonoma County • 6 million lbs pollution reduced annually Family YMCA • $1.6 million saved over 20 years Santa Rosa • 200,000 lbs pollution reduced annually • $250,000 saved over 15 years Clif Bar Emeryville • 8.7 million lbs pollution reduced annually • $145,000 saved annually Golden Valley Unified School District San Mateo Community Madera College District • 2.3 million lbs pollution reduced San Mateo County annually • 1.6 million lbs pollution • $250,000 saved within five years reduced since 2007 • $275,000 saved annually Century Plaza Towers Los Angeles • 4 million lbs pollution Gills Onions reduced annually Oxnard • $900,000 saved annually • 4 million lbs pollution reduced annually Constellation Place • $800,000 saved annually Los Angeles • 1.2 million lbs pollution reduced annually • $100,000 saved annually Marine Corps Base and Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton San Diego County • 9.5 million lbs pollution Marine Corps Air reduced annually Station Miramar • $900,000 saved annually San Diego • 250 million lbs pollution reduced annually • $800,000 saved annually Executive Summary educing global warming pollution is strengthen sensible policies that encour- critical to protecting California’s en- age clean energy and energy efficiency Rvironment, but doing so can also de- innovations, such as the Million Solar liver big rewards for our state’s economy. Roofs Initiative and the Electric Program Investment Charge. This will ensure that All across California, businesses, farms, all of California’s communities will be able government agencies, schools and non- to make inroads into a clean, sustainable profits are demonstrating that action to energy future. reduce heat-trapping emissions can im- prove competitiveness and strengthen the bottom line. Energy efficiency measures Gills Onions – Oxnard and clean energy projects reduce waste, cut Gills Onions, a family-owned onion energy costs, limit exposure to fossil fuel grower in Oxnard, installed a biogas en- price spikes, and attract environmentally ergy system to turn its own crop waste aware customers. into electricity. Using onion peels, the system generates 60 percent of the annual This report highlights ten organizations energy needs of the onion processing plant. that have made investments in clean energy The system has also greatly reduced truck solutions, together reducing their emis- trips formerly needed to haul away onion sions of global warming pollution by the waste. equivalent of over 280 million pounds of carbon dioxide per year while saving more • Gills Onions reduced emissions of than $4 million annually.1 carbon dioxide pollution by over 4 million pounds per year, helping Cali- The steps these organizations have taken fornia to fight global warming. to reduce their operating costs and reduce global warming pollution are quickly • In 2010, Gills Onions saved $800,000 becoming the norm in the Golden State. through energy savings and reduced California should continue to adopt and labor and transportation costs. Executive Summary Golden Valley Unified School energy-efficient lighting and an efficient District – Madera pool heater. Golden Valley Unified School District is using renewable energy to help combat • The solar system will offset 219,000 the state budget crunch. It purchased pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a 1.1-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) and reduce over 3,000 pounds of other system that supplies 80 percent of the unhealthy pollutants each year. district’s total annual electricity con- sumption. • At the same time, the solar system will save up to $250,000 in energy costs • The solar array prevents 2.3 million over a 15-year period. pounds of carbon dioxide pollution each year. San Mateo Community College • The school district expects to achieve District – San Mateo County up to $250,000 in cumulative energy The San Mateo Community College savings by 2017 and up to $9 million District, which consists of College of San in cumulative energy savings after 25 Mateo, Cañada College in Redwood City years of operation. and Skyline College in San Bruno, has built five LEED Gold certified buildings as part of a capital improvement plan. These build- Anheuser-Busch InBev – Fairfield ings incorporate energy-efficient lighting, Anheuser Busch installed a large, utility-scale cool roofs, and digital temperature control 1.5-megawatt wind turbine at its Fairfield systems to reduce energy consumption by Brewery in 2011, adding to a 1.2-megawatt as much as 34 percent compared to similar solar array and a biogas energy system fueled buildings constructed to code. by brewing waste products. On a net annual basis, the turbine produces about 20 percent • Energy efficiency improvements have of the electricity needed at the plant. eliminated 1.6 million pounds of car- bon dioxide pollution since 2007. • The wind turbine reduces carbon dioxide pollution by 6 million pounds • The new buildings reduced annual per year. electricity costs by $275,000. • The wind turbine alone will reduce energy costs by $1.6 million to $2.5 Marine Corps Air Station million over a 20 year period. Miramar – San Diego The Marine Corps considers energy independence to be a top priority, and it Sonoma County Family YMCA – has pursued renewable energy projects to Santa Rosa reduce its reliance on fossil fuels from the The Sonoma County Family YMCA in- commercial power grid. The Marine Corps stalled a 273-kilowatt solar PV array in its Air Station at Miramar is halfway towards a parking lot. The solar array produces 80 goal of producing all of its electricity from percent of the facility’s electricity needs on-site sources by 2017, with the bulk of and also doubles as a shade structure for this energy coming from a 3.2-megawatt vehicles. The YMCA has also installed landfill methane gas plant. 2 Greening the Bottom Line • MCAS Miramar is eliminating the • The solar array reduces energy costs equivalent of over 250 million pounds by $145,000 each year—savings