Energy

In 2019, we signed a 12-year, 70 megawatt (MW) virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Enel Green Power North America to purchase renewable energy beginning in 2021. Representing about half of Clorox’s 100% renewable electricity goal for operations in the U.S. and Canada, this agreement helped us achieve that goal in 2021, four years earlier than our original plan. We are committed to maintaining this goal.

The 70MW VPPA is a commitment to purchase renewable energy delivered to the electricity grid from Enel’s Roadrunner solar project in Texas. Roadrunner is a 497 megawatt (MW) solar project capable of generating approximately 1.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually while avoiding an estimated 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

This VPPA allowed us to scale our use of renewable energy, which we invested in at two of our facilities. In fiscal year 2017, we installed solar panels at our Fairfield, California plant and at our regional distribution center in Aberdeen, Maryland. Both solar panel arrays were built with a third-party provider as power purchase agreements, or PPAs. That means we didn’t spend company money to build these projects, and the facilities buy the power produced from the third party instead of from the utility. While both arrays generate renewable energy, we do not claim the use of renewable energy or include the clean energy attributes of the Aberdeen RDC in the calculation of our GHG emissions because the third party retains the renewable energy credit rights in the PPA.

Our Progress: Year-Over-Year Reduction of GHG Emissions (2018–2019)

Since closing out our 2020 goal period in 2018, we continue to report our annual energy use and conduct third-party independent assurance of this metric. We will continue to pursue energy efficiency opportunities with the goal of achieving or exceeding our 2018 baseline levels. In 2019 we achieved an 8% absolute and 6% intensity (per case of product sold) reduction in energy use relative to 2018. This represents a year-over-year energy savings of 56,000 megawatt-hours. 

Oakland Headquarters LEED Certification

In 2010, Clorox was again recognized for its strong commitment to environmental stewardship when our corporate headquarters in Oakland, California became one of only 38 buildings in the U.S. to achieve the highest level of eco recognition: platinum level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Existing Building certification (LEED-EB). While we sold the Oakland building in 2013, we continue to lease office space from the facility which has maintained its LEED-EB Platinum status. For more information, read about workplace initiatives on our GHG emissions page.

Kingsford Plant Woodpile Cover

Our Kingsford® brand’s Summer Shade, Kentucky, manufacturing facility installed a fabric superstructure — slightly larger than a football field and nine stories tall — over its woodpile to prevent the material from being exposed to the elements. With the woodpile protected, less energy is required to dry it before it’s used to make char, a key ingredient for manufacturing charcoal briquets.

Lighting Retrofits

In the early 2010’s, we began to equip our manufacturing and distribution facilities with energy-efficient T5/T8 fluorescent lighting. In 2014, our engineering standards changed to specify LED lighting, which is more energy-efficient than fluorescent lighting, for all interior and exterior new construction and retrofits, and we consequently converted many of the initial T5/T8 upgrades to LED. Today, all Clorox sites globally have retrofitted their lighting to more energy efficient types

Our facilities also completed energy assessments to further identify and reduce energy usage from their operating equipment and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, and implemented improved operating procedures.