GE adds 22 new products & solutions, bringing total ecomagination portfolio to 110
Ecomagination revenues hit $18 billion for year
Sydney -- Australia, 21 June 2011---GE today released its ecomagination annual report showing it invested about $1.8 billion in 2010 on research and development of clean technologies, which puts it on course to meet its goal of $10 billion cumulative investment between 2010 and 2015.
This investment helped lead to the development in 2010 of 22 new ecomagination-qualified products and solutions such as WattStation™, a user-friendly charging station designed to accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles and Nucleus™, a smart meter technology that helps homeowners manage energy use. During the year, GE generated $18 billion in revenues from ecomagination products and has surpassed $85 billion in sales since the program began in 2005 -- making ecomagination one of the most successful commercial initiatives in the history of GE. The company also reduced its energy intensity in 2010 by nearly 33% and GHG emissions 24% as compared with a 2004 baseline.
"Ecomagination is a competitive force for growth across GE's businesses," said GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt.
"With $85 billion in sales and services since 2005, ecomagination is a business strategy that represents an area of continued strength for the company. We'll continue to make bold investments to help solve customer problems and deliver strong returns for our investors and shareholders."
Ben Waters, Director of ecomagination for Australia and New Zealand, said "GE and Australia are a great fit because we share a focus on renewable energy and cleaner energy solutions, and we see significant potential for growth here in those areas.
"We're already very active in the clean energy sector in Australia -- for example we're working with Ausgrid on one of the world's biggest smart grid trials, and purify more than 70 million tons of wastewater per day for safe discharge in the Great Barrier Reef. Over the next few years we will continue to invest heavily in our ecomagination initiative in Australia, kicked off with the launch of our national advertising campaign this week. Our focus is sustainability through innovation, and we're looking forward to working with innovative companies to build a more sustainable and prosperous Australia."
The GE ecomagination annual report provides an update on the progress GE has made in 2010 against its ecomagination commitments:
- Double investment in clean research and development -- In 2010, GE continued to demonstrate the importance of investing in the future, deploying $1.8 billion in ecomagination R&D, and making steady first-year progress toward the new goal of $10 billion cumulative investment between 2010 and 2015.
- Increase revenues from ecomagination products -- GE last year set an ambitious new goal of growing eco revenues at twice the rate of total company revenue in the next five years. In our first year of this goal, the ecomagination portfolio saw strong growth, adding 22 new products and solutions, generating $18 billion in revenues.
- Reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve the energy efficiency of its operations -- GE reduced its energy intensity nearly 33% -- a 1% improvement over 2009 -- surpassing the goal of 30% in 2012. It also reduced GHG emissions 24% -- a 2% downturn from the progress made in 2009. By 2015, GE will improve the energy intensity of its operations 50%, and will reduce its absolute GHG emissions 25%. (Note: all figures in this section are compared to a 2004 baseline).
- Reduce water use and improve water reuse -- In 2010, GE's water use was 11.9 billion gallons, a 22% reduction from the 2006 baseline, and an 8% increase from 2009. Despite this slight downturn, we are still on track to exceed the company's target of 20% by 2012 from a baseline of 2006.
- Keep the public informed -- GE is continuing ongoing discussions, dialogues and communications to engage with the public on our ecomagination efforts. In 2010, the company launched an updated website at www.ecomagination.com, where the public can learn more and engage in a dialogue about GE, ecomagination, our customers and our diverse stakeholders. We further ensure strong disclosure by holding more than 300 analyst and investor meetings annually.
Joanne Woo
Corporate Communications Director, Australia & New Zealand
[email protected]
+61 409 330 731