Fact Sheet: SC Johnson Uses Renewable Energy

Since the early 2000s, SC Johnson has worked to add new sources into our energy mix. It’s part of our ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility. Today, three SC Johnson plants run on 100% renewable wind power. We have renewable energy initiatives around the world, employing wind, solar, waste palm shells, rice husks, and even garbage.

For the past 15 years, SC Johnson has used renewable energy sources around the world to power our facilities. Globally, 34% of our energy use in 2018/19 came from renewable sources. In 2018/19 SC Johnson achieved a 62% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to our 2000 baseline (indexed to production).

Here’s a look at our clean energy initiatives around the world…

Biofuel

Surabaya, Indonesia
Since 2012, a biofuel initiative at our manufacturing facility in Surabaya, Indonesia, has used waste husks from rice grains as a fuel source for heating water for production. This cuts about 7,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

Cogeneration

SC Johnson employs two cogeneration systems at Waxdale, our largest global manufacturing facility. Using waste methane gas from a nearby public landfill and clean-burning natural gas, the turbines generate about 85% of Waxdale’s energy needs. The rest comes from wind energy.

Solar Power

Shanghai and Changzhou, China; Pulogadung, Indonesia; and Baddi, India, Toluca, Mexico, and Manaus, Brazil
At SC Johnson facilities in China, Indonesia, and India, solar projects help provide hot water heating for company operations, including aerosol production and quality control processes. Our manufacturing site in Toluca Mexico uses solar heated water to displace liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for cafeteria and employee facilities. In Manaus Brazil, our manufacturing plant purchases 100% renewable electricity from the local utility to power the factory.

Wind Power

Bay City, Michigan
Since 2008, SC Johnson has been purchasing wind power from nearby wind farms to help power our Bay City, Michigan, manufacturing facility, which produces Ziploc® brand bags. As of 2017, the site now runs on 100% wind energy for electricity. 

Mijdrecht, The Netherlands
In 2009, we started up our first company-owned wind turbine in Mijdrecht, The Netherlands, to power our Europlant manufacturing facility. The turbine generates 50% of the energy for Europlant. In 2015, the facility became our first plant to get 100% of its required energy from renewable sources, sourcing its remaining electrical needs from purchased wind power.

Racine, Wisconsin
In 2010, SC Johnson began testing three SWIFT mini wind turbines at our global headquarters campus in Racine, Wisconsin. The goal has been to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, in addition, to raise awareness of urban wind projects. In 2019, we announced plans to use geothermal energy to power our headquarters. The GeoExchange system – which repurposes energy in a highly efficient manner but is not considered renewable – is expected to reduce energy use by an estimated 42 percent. 

Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin
With the completion in 2012 of two 415-foot-tall wind turbines at Waxdale, our largest global manufacturing facility, the site now generates 100% of its electrical energy onsite, on average. The two turbines generate about 8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, while the facility’s remaining electrical energy needs are met by Waxdale’s two cogeneration turbines.

Toluca, Mexico
In 2013, SC Johnson started purchasing wind power at our Toluca, Mexico, facility. Today, this enables the facility to obtain 33% of its electricity from renewable sources. 

Gorzow, Poland
Since 2016, SC Johnson has been purchasing wind power for our Gorzow, Poland manufacturing site. It was our second site to run on 100% wind energy for electricity.