Environment

GM Fairfax Gets Kansas Pollution Prevention Award

Assembly Plant recognized for energy efficiency and recycling efforts
Aug 10, 2012 8:45 PM ET
Campaign: GM Energy Efficiency
Workers install doors on Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCross vehicles at the General Motors Fairfax Kansas Plant. (Photo by Steve Fecht for General Motors) (United States)

(3BL Media) Kansas City, KS - August 10, 2012 - The Kansas Department of Health and Environment awarded General Motors Fairfax Assembly & Stamping – home of the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Lacrosse – with a 2012 Pollution Prevention Award, citing plant-wide efforts to reduce energy use and actively recycle waste.

The plant is committed to ongoing efforts to reduce energy use and conserve resources. It constantly assesses its environmental impact with the goal of continuous improvement.

“Our facility is dedicated to going above and beyond compliance with environmental laws to ensure we adhere to responsible environmental business practices,” said Megan McCutcheon, environmental engineer at the plant. “At Fairfax Assembly, we consider environmental impact throughout all aspects of our business operations and manufacturing.”

GM Fairfax demonstrated progress in several areas last year:

  • Replaced lights with more energy-efficient fixtures and adjusted temperature set points during cooling and heating seasons; established energy-saving goals.
  • Reduced annual CO2 emissions by more than 20,000 tons – equivalent to one year of greenhouse gas emissions from more than 3,500 vehicles.
  • Minimized landfill use through recycling byproducts, including scrap metal. In 2011, it disposed of only 9 percent of its waste in a landfill, recycling, reusing and converting the rest to energy.

“The GM Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant and all our Kansas Pollution Prevention award winners are working to reduce energy usage and waste to continue to improve their communities and places of work,” said John Mitchell, director, KDHE Division of Environment. “These pollution prevention efforts not only help the environment, but also our economy and well-being.”

GM’s commitment to energy efficiency and waste reduction is ongoing.

In 2011, it received the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award for energy and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. That year, 30 GM plants – including Fairfax Assembly – met the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry, cutting energy intensity by an average of 25 percent at plants in North America over three years and avoiding $50 million in energy costs as a result.

GM recently added its 100th landfill-free facility. No other automaker has as many facilities sending zero waste to landfill. All of its worldwide facilities combined – including landfill-free plants and all others – recycle or reuse more than 90 percent of the waste they generate.

For more information on GM’s environmental commitment, visit its sustainability report andenvironmental blog.

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets.  GM’s brands include Chevrolet and Cadillac, as well as Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.