SC Johnson has announced its intention to use geothermal energy to power its Racine, Wisconsin headquarters, a move that will reduce the company’s environmental footprint.
SC Johnson plans to install a GeoExchange system at its iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed campus to provide sustainable heating and cooling throughout the facilities, using the constant temperature of the Earth. The project — which is pending city and state approvals — is expected to reduce energy usage by an estimated 42%. There is a 40% reduction made up of decreasing consumption from the implementation of a GeoExchange system, including transforming the current boiler facility to a new energy efficient thermal plant, and an additional 2% reduction by utilizing PV for renewable energy. Combined with other sustainable projects, the facility will save another 15 to 20% in energy usage, resulting in a total facility-wide reduction of 57 to 62% of the current energy load.
SC Johnson has long been a proponent of clean energy. Altogether, the company’s efforts have resulted in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in its worldwide manufacturing sites by 62% since the company’s 2000 baseline.
SC Johnson’s Administration Building — which remains the only operational corporate headquarters designed by Wright — opened 80 years ago, in 1939. Additionally, roughly 13,000 square feet of photovoltaic (PV) panels (or ~620 panels) will be installed on the building roofs of the company’s west campus. A GeoExchange well field will be located under a northwest parking lot, and an existing boiler plant will be converted to a next-generation thermal plant.
