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It’s the road to prosperity. The way to innovation. The avenue to leadership. It’s the path to sustainability. Johnson Controls Inc is taking it, and we’re helping millions of customers all over the world to follow it, too.

The Johnson Controls path to sustainability begins with a common understanding of what sustainability means to businesses and organisations. The goals include financial rewards, more productive employees, and healthy communities. Most important, this route is critical to globally making a difference as sustainability becomes a factor in every person’s life.

SUSTAINABLE GREEN BUILDINGS

Since buildings account for 38 per cent of the CO₂ emissions per year, according to the US Green Buildings Council, it makes sense for businesses to begin their path to sustainability with their facilities.

The good news is that high performance facilities, ie those that are environmentally accountable, energy efficient and productive for occupants, are economically possible through an integrated approach to design and construction.

This method means that upfront costs can be the same or less than conventional construction, but the operational costs over the life of the building will be significantly lower. Features of buildings constructed this way include:

• Systems that efficiently use water resources and energy.
• Quality indoor environments that are healthy, secure, pleasing and productive for occupants and owners.
• Wise use of building sites, assets and materials.
• Natural landscaping, efficient material use and recycling.
• Reduced human impact on the natural environment.

A successful integrated building approach requires people, processes and technologies to be brought together early in the design phase. The project team, for example, must be a multidisciplinary group (ie owner, architect, builder, subcontractors and suppliers) and assembled before making any major decisions about the building. This team works together throughout the project, considering each aspect of the project with an eye towards reducing resource use during construction and more efficient long term operation.

Integration technologies should be used to tie together state of the art systems (heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, fire, security) into one computerised management and automation platform. This approach allows operators to monitor energy and resource use, and to realise significant efficiencies and continuous returns on investment.

As a leading provider of integrated building systems and solutions, Johnson Controls has been at the forefront of the green buildings movement. The company helped develop the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System sponsored by the US Green Building Council. We have assessed more than 200 customer buildings for LEED compliance and have achieved certification for many of them including our own headquarters facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one of the first 12 in the world.

LEADING WITH LEED

Johnson Controls offers many solutions that support the LEED rating system and help customers achieve LEED-rated facilities, including:

• Facility Management Systems/Building Automation Systems.
• High efficiency chillers and air handling systems.
• Temperature and humidity monitoring systems.
• Energy measurement and verification.
• Water conservation and measurement systems.
• On site renewable energy.
• Underfloor air distribution systems.
• Personal environments control systems.
• Commissioning services.

Through just a portion of the energy efficiency services it offers, Johnson Controls is helping commercial property owners reduce energy costs by US$18 billion over the next 10 years and eliminating 352 million tonnes of air pollutants.

SUSTAINABILITY EQUALS SUCCESS

Johnson Controls has taken the lessons learned in its own operations and is now helping companies embrace sustainability in all their operations through the following approach:

• Executive leadership – An organisation must have a champion with a commitment. Our initial meetings explain why a sustainable approach will help that leader meet the business’s goals.
• Assessment – Whether a facility is a manufacturing centre, office building or campus, Johnson Controls assesses the triple bottom line risks and the opportunities that may be available through sustainable solutions.
• Action plan – Johnson Controls provides clearly defined goals, timelines and guarantees. We can even arrange for funding so that a project’s savings pay for the project itself.
• Implementation – Our expertise is based on 122 years of experience in applying proven and measurable sustainable strategies.
• Communications – Johnson Controls works with all organisational levels to be clear what is being undertaken and provide public visibility to a project’s accomplishments.

THE JOHNSON CONTROLS PATH

For Johnson Controls itself, the path to sustainability begins with commitment from our CEO, Steve Roell, who is an absolute advocate. We are developing and investing in areas across all our business lines that help not only the economic bottom line but are also consistent with our environmental and social goals.

Sustainability is fundamental in what we do for our own operations, and it is integrated throughout our customer activities. Using our own processes, we have assembled data on all facilities to establish our true global environmental footprint, recently passing an audit related to the US Environmental Protection Agency Climate Leaders program.

The World Environment Center and the Energy Star Program have both recognised Johnson Controls – factors in our listing with several sustainable financial investment indexes. Through our participation in groups such as the Global Reporting Initiative, Global Environment Management Initiative, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the UN Global Compact and Clinton Climate Initiative, we’re helping others benefit from our experience.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

The most interesting thing about the path to sustainability is that it is a process of continuous improvement, and we’re living proof. Johnson Controls continues to fully understand and address stakeholder sustainability issues for ourselves and our customers as we progress along the path to financial, social and environmental success.

Understanding sustainability

To Johnson Controls, sustainability is today’s most significant, but often misunderstood, issue. Some believe sustainability means ‘green’ and only focus on environmental aspects. Other corporate or government groups will discuss sustainability with regard to social responsibility. Still others look at the dictionary definition, which means able to keep up or keep going, as in sustaining an action or process.

At Johnson Controls, sustainability fully encompasses all of those criteria – and adds a financial component. We know we can better sustain our economic success by integrating environmental and social decisions.

Organisation

Johnson Controls is the global leader in providing building automation systems and heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) equipment for non-residential buildings. Johnson Controls provides technical services to maintain and repair building systems, and also manages and operates thousands of facilities for Fortune 500 firms around the world.
Our customers include thousands of hospitals, schools, airports, office buildings, data centers, government facilities, high-tech manufacturing sites, pharmaceutical laboratories and other buildings. A dedicated team of 56,000 employees is creating a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services.