Green Manufacturers for a Green Age

Green is on everyone's mind. For many, a new era of environmental awareness has dawned. In the HVAC industry, however, green thinking isn't new. The leading manufacturers, distributors, and contractors in this industry have been acting in environmentally conscientious ways long before it was fashionable to do so. The ContractingBusiness.com “Green Giants” series is a testament to the individuals and companies who are keeping the world comfortable and clean.

Moving Forward to a Greener Tomorrow

Green permeates every stage of the business at The Daikin Group. Of course, that could be expected from a company that is listed as a member of the Global 100, the top most sustainable companies in the world, for the second consecutive year in 2008.

“At Daikin, we're committed to providing energy-efficient and sustainable building solutions by ensuring environmentally-conscious practices in all business, product development, and manufacturing activities,” says Russ Tavolacci, Daikin AC (Americas) vice president and general manager.

This means producing energy efficient heat pump systems that minimize CO₂ emissions, and advancing inverter and other energy efficient technologies. In manufacturing, Daikin's practice of low-impact production includes reducing energy consumption. At the company's manufacturing plants, air conditioning systems automatically switch to power-save mode, and thermal insulation coatings reflect the sun's rays. By 2005, all Daikin Group production bases in Japan had achieved zero waste status.

“From procurement to production and from product design to transportation, Daikin keeps moving forward to a greener tomorrow. Daikin involves every aspect of the supply chain in its green procurement efforts, including our suppliers. Since 2000, we've been requiring suppliers in Japan to comply with our guidelines, such as the requirement to be ISO 14001 (environmental management systems) certified (by 2005), and we ask suppliers to have their own systems in place for green procurement and chemical substance management,” Tavolacci says.

He adds that Daikin believes it's imperative to spread the use of heat pump and inverter technologies to make people's lives more comfortable with minimal environmental impact. “Since 1990, Daikin reduced greenhouse gas — CO₂, HFC, and perfluorocarbon (PFC) emissions by 83%, and we're picking up the pace with a new target of reducing emissions to less than 1.4 million tons by fiscal 2010 (a reduction of 50% from fiscal 2005),” Tavolacci says.

Contractors can expect to see more products that have a minimal environmental impact from Daikin. For example, the company says its inverter technology is a perfect match for solar energy systems. “The characteristics of inverter drive HVAC systems are such that they prevent the need for an excessive grid-tied solar power system, and therefore realize the highest running cost savings,” Tavolacci says.

For the global markets, Daikin employs a network service system that allows complete remote monitoring of systems.

Tavolacci concludes that ideally, its contractor customers will want to follow the company's environmental example. “We encourage them to promote our energy saving technology to their homeowner and building owner customers,” he says. “Contractors have the opportunity to educate the end user about how Daikin's products can save energy and money because they operate more efficiently. We offer and encourage Daikin product and installation training that can prepare the contractor for questions about efficiency and environmental impact.

“We would also encourage our dealers to follow the company's lead when it comes to being good environmental citizens,” Tavolacci adds. “We encourage them to recycle and use recyclable materials, support environmental causes, and run their businesses with a sense of environmental responsibility.”

The link to Daikin's international website's sustainability section is http://www.daikin.com/csr/index.html

A Long and Proud Green History

At Danfoss, environmental responsibility is deeply rooted in the company's culture. The company's worldwide facilities are required to have environmental management systems certified under ISO 14001. This not only means they must meet all relevant standards, they also must show continuous improvement.