Consumer products manufacturer S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. is targeting up to a 62 percent reduction in its current energy needs at its Racine headquarters using geothermal, solar and other conservation methods.
The company said Monday that it plans to install a geoexchange system on its Frank Lloyd Wright-designed campus. The system uses the earth’s temperature to help regulate heating and cooling of facilities and will be installed under the northwest parking lot on the campus. The system will provide an estimated 40 percent reduction in energy use on the campus.
Around 620 solar panels covering around 13,000 square feet will also be installed on building roofs at the company’s west campus. The panels will help offset energy consumption from the grid and provide an estimated 2 percent reduction in energy use.
SC Johnson said other sustainability projects on the campus will cut another 15 to 20 percent of energy use and the total facility-wide reduction will be 57 to 62 percent.
“Leading the industry in an environmentally responsible manner starts at home,” said Fisk Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of SC Johnson. “For us, that meant taking a look at our operations and finding where we can lessen our impact by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, addressing air quality and increasing the amount of energy offset from renewable resources. Transitioning to geothermal energy at our headquarters goes a long way toward accomplishing those goals.”
The company is hoping to have the geoexchange system installed by the fall and have the entire campus operating on it by the fall of 2020.
