Perhaps no other manufacturing industry in the world is as well-positioned as the HVAC industry to have a positive environmental impact. Not only has equipment become more energy efficient during the past decade, the industry’s leading manufacturers are among the world’s leaders in making manufacturing plants and processes greener.

As John Mandyck, vice president, government and international relations, Carrier Corp., Farmington, CT, says: “Sustainability for any manufacturer can’t be about products alone. Green products have to come from green companies. We don’t think you can truly offer a green product unless it’s made in a green manner.”

However, there’s another consideration for manufacturers. Gary Clark, senior vice president of marketing, Goodman Global, Inc., Houston, TX, points out that customers expect HVAC manufacturers to be environmentally conscious; it’s not an extra cost that should be forced on the homeowner. “If a customer is sitting at home needing a new air conditioner and the dealer says, ‘I have one that’s $1 and another that’s $2, and the only difference is that the $2 one is green,’ the homeowner is likely to say, ‘Wait a minute, why am I paying for that? That’s the wrong type of green!’”

Fortunately, manufacturers are finding that investments made to make their manufacturing processes greener actually end up making the processes more efficient, which holds the line on — or even reduces — costs.

Green is More than Skin Deep
Carrier Corp. ships a product every three seconds of every hour of every day to some customer around the world. Given that volume, the company gives a great deal of thought to the environmental footprint of both its products and its manufacturing processes.

“We continually look inward to see how we can be the greenest company,” Mandyck says. For the 10-year period starting in 1996, Carrier doubled sales, but held energy usage flat. “That’s about productivity in our factories, but it’s productivity with a huge dividend for the environment in the amount of avoided carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that could have occurred. Much of what we accomplished was because we combined factories to make manufacturing more efficient, which in turn made them more energy efficient,” says Mandyck.

Carrier has embarked on a new set of goals for the fouryear period of 2007 through the end of 2010. “The goals include reducing our total greenhouse gas emissions — or our carbon footprint — by 12%, regardless of our growth,” Mandyck says. “It’s about making our factories even more energy efficient, and finding ways to reduce our carbon footprint in every other aspect of our operation. That includes the delivery of our products, the vehicles that we use to service our products, the airline miles we use to travel, and so on. It’s a comprehensive view of carbon, and a goal to reduce it in absolute terms.”

Beyond its carbon footprint, Carrier is working to reduce the packaging materials of its products by 10%, reduce water usage by 10%, and completely eliminate “materials of concern,” such as lead and mercury, from its products. This last goal largely involves working with component suppliers to change-out items that may be a source of those materials, such as fasteners or screws.

To ensure that Carrier’s products operate in the energy efficient manner in which they were designed, the company requires its factory authorized dealers to have at least half of their technicians certified by North American Technician Excellence (NATE).

“We’re going to sell many more higher efficiency systems, and we’re going to sell more non-ozone depleting systems. But if they’re not installed properly we’ll lose the environmental benefits that we’re trying to bring through new technology,” Mandyck says. “NATE certification is a great way to ensure the environmental benefits of our products are realized in the marketplace.”

Green thinking, Mandyck concludes, is more than skin deep. “We’re bringing green products to the marketplace that we can be proud of and our customers can be proud of,” he says. “We want to provide the assurance that not only are the products themselves green, but they were also made in a green manner that was sensitive to the environment.”

Good for the Environment and Business
Nordyne, St. Louis, MO, has been focusing for the past 10 to 15 years on eliminating waste and environmentally negative processes in its manufacturing operations wherever possible. As it turns out, the practices the company has adopted have been good for both the environment and the business.

“Nordyne recognizes our responsibility as a corporate entity to demonstrate good citizenship in the communities in which we operate, in our nation, and in our world. We accomplish this by using sound environmental practices and conserving resources, while striving to remain competitive and profitable,” says Michael Nix, vice president of operations.

The list of environmental, conservation improvement, and waste reduction initiatives at Nordyne is a long one.

“Nordyne has been very aggressive over the last decade in eliminating waste and environmentally negative processes from our manufacturing and office operations,” Nix says. “One very significant action eliminated vapor degreasing operations and the onerous chemicals associated with those processes from all of our operations. Where cleaning is still required to assure the quality of our components and products, Nordyne has adopted environmentally- friendly, water-based cleaning systems.”