In early December, Danfoss, the Baltimore, MD-based refrigeration products manufacturer, became a charter member of the Save Energy Now^® LEADER program, a new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program. The program provides technical assistance and resources to companies that pledge significant improvements in industrial energy efficiency.

Robert Wilkins, president of Danfoss North America, signed a voluntary pledge that Danfoss will reduce its industrial energy intensity by 25% over the next decade.

Charter members must also establish energy use and energy intensity baselines, and develop an energy management plan over the next 12 months. In return, charter members will receive access to select DOE resources as well as national recognition for energy management achievements.

“We're excited about participating in the Save Energy Now program,” Wilkins says. “Danfoss has been a proponent of environmental sustainability for 76 years, so this recognition is a perfect match with our core mission and values.”

The LEADER program is a new component of the existing and successful Save Energy Now initiative, through which companies partner with DOE to conduct energy audits and assessments to identify the opportunities for energy and cost savings in the companies' operations.

Others among the 32 charter LEADER companies are:

• The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI)

• Honeywell, Morristown, NJ

• Ingersoll Rand/Trane, Piscataway, NJ

• Schneider Electric, Palatine, IL

• Spirax Sarco, Inc., Blythewood, SC

• United Technologies Corp., Hartford, CT.
  http://bit.ly/LEADERS