Johnson Controls, the pioneer for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, is accelerating progress on its 2040 net zero commitment through the completion of a comprehensive sustainability project at its Norman, Oklahoma, manufacturing facility.
The plant modernization project is expected to generate $960,000 in annual savings, reduce emissions at the site by 43% and create a blueprint for global organizations seeking to implement building modernization projects that bring value to owners, employees, investors and communities.
Common industry challenges
“We are demonstrating at Norman that our cutting-edge technology can deliver competitive advantages including reduced utility bills, uptime assurance and a more productive environment, all while significantly slashing carbon emissions,” said Katie McGinty, vice president and chief sustainability and external relations officer at Johnson Controls. “The success at our Norman plant serves as a powerful case study to inspire other organizations to do the same.”
The Norman plant is a 900,000 square-foot flagship facility for research, manufacturing and testing of Johnson Controls HVAC rooftop units. Facing common industry challenges such as deferred maintenance and competing capital priorities, a team comprised of facility leaders, engineers and C-suite leaders designed, digitalized and deployed a complete facility upgrade with minimal disruption to operations.
Providing greater insights
Additionally, the company installed a 1.56-megawatt carport solar-photovoltaic solution
Central to these improvements will be the company’s OpenBlue digital platform, which will support net zero goals through automated emissions reporting and providing greater insights through data.
Johnson Controls also implemented various infrastructure improvements including a more efficient central utility plant, new compressed air system, plug load controls, water conservation measures projected to save 3.5 million gallons of purchased water annually and a high- and low-voltage transformer replacement. Additionally, the company installed a 1.56-megawatt carport solar-photovoltaic solution, along with vehicle charging stations, to generate on-site renewable energy and further support energy needs.
Comprehensive decarbonization strategy
“We’re drawing insights from our own facility upgrades and translating the lessons learned into actionable roadmaps tailored to our customers’ net zero goals,” said Mark Reinbold, vice president, global sustainable infrastructure at Johnson Controls.
“The strides made at our Norman plant demonstrate the tangible outcomes made possible when organizations embrace a comprehensive decarbonization strategy. As we look ahead, this is just one exciting step on our journey to net zero and the same can be true for our customers.”
Business-critical investments
Johnson Controls Sustainable Infrastructure team has leveraged an innovative financing model – Infrastructure-as-a-Service – to preserve its capital budget for other business-critical investments.
The Norman project will be paid for with a fixed monthly fee to lower its inherent risk and avoid capital investments. Johnson Controls has been a pioneer in delivering outcome-based financing solutions for its customers, generating more than $8.4 billion in energy and operational savings and mitigating nearly 39 million metric tons of carbon dioxide since 2000.
