FUJIFILM, Valhalla, NY, announced that its primary US manufacturing complex, located in Greenwood, SC, now uses methane gas from a local community landfill to power approximately 40% of its operations. Fujifilm says this is one of many steps the company is taking to reduce greenhouse emissions at its facilities worldwide. The company aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 15% by 2012 in the US.
FUJIFILM, Valhalla, NY, announced that its primary US manufacturing complex, located in Greenwood, SC, now uses methane gas from a local community landfill to power approximately 40% of its operations. Fujifilm says this is one of many steps the company is taking to reduce greenhouse emissions at its facilities worldwide. The company aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 15% by 2012 in the US.
“The completion of this project is a major accomplishment and a step in the right direction for the environment,” says Shin Kataokoa, president of Fujifilm Manufacturing USA, Inc. “The landfill gas-to-energy project goes a long way toward meeting our global target for reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses being released into the atmosphere.”
Fujifilm says it has committed to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions 40% from its 1990 numbers by 2012 globally and is actively pursuing new energy fuels that will prevent global warming. The company also announced plans to develop a wind farm in Tilburg, Netherlands, to supply a portion of the electricity needs of the Fujifilm Manufacturing Europe B.V., which manufactures color photo paper and offset-printing plates.
“We are extremely happy this project worked out,” says Robbie Templeton, chairman of the Greenwood County Council. The County was under a deadline imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce or eliminate methane emissions from the landfill. Without Fujifilm, the County’s other option was to burn off the gas at the landfill. “Once again, Fujifilm proves itself to be one of our best corporate citizens,” Templeton says.
Fujifilm uses the gas in two of its specially equipped boilers with a dual-burner system that can be switched back and forth between landfill-source methane and natural gas purchased from the Commission of Public Works. Fujifilm says it plans to use at least 197 billion BTUs of energy from the landfill per year.