by Keith Cornett

For a high-powered sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette doesn’t act like it at the gas pump.

Now comes word that the Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Ky., where the Corvette is put together is pretty energy-efficient, too.

The Bowling Green facility has become one of 54 to meet a voluntary energy-reduction challenge from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Corvette plant reduced its use of energy by 26 percent in less than a year to meet the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry.

By meeting the challenge, Bowling Green kept nearly 13,000 tons of carbon dioxide from going into the air, or the same as the electricity usage of nearly 1,500 U.S. homes each year.
The reduction also saved the facility more than $1 million in energy costs annually. In all, GM plants cut energy costs by $90 million.

Mike Robinson, GM vice president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs, said the company’s workers are committed to helping increase global operations’ energy efficiency. “They remain at the core of our progress, he said.”

Corvette Plant Manager Dave Tatman agrees. “The men and women of Bowling Green Corvette Assembly take our environmental responsibility very seriously, as evidenced by these results,” he said. “Through a clear and consistent focus on reducing our environmental impact, our employees have responded in terrific ways.”

For example, the million-square-foot Bowling Green plant recently changed to energy-efficient fluorescent lighting and also has promoted environmental responsibility through recycling cardboard/paper, wood, and scrap metal; managing material to Waste-to-Energy facilities; and enhancing Wildlife Habitat trails by using wood chips from projects at various business instead of putting them in the landfill.