by Ann Withanee — October 10, 2011—Otis Elevator Company, a unit of United Technologies Corp., announced the enhancement of its NCE escalator, said to be the first to offer as standard a complete, all-in-one package of “green” features, including regenerative drives, power standby features, LED lighting and high-efficiency lubrication. The energy-efficient escalator was displayed at the Greenbuild 2011 convention. The expo, held in Toronto early October, had a wide display of green products with special appeal to building owners and facilities executives.
Otis also announced that it is well ahead of its sustainability objectives established under the company’s The Way to Green program, launched in February 2011 as a major global environmental commitment spanning every aspect of its operations. The company stated that it will continue to pursue opportunities to improve its sustainability practices and offer new, innovative energy-efficient products and services.
Otis points to these energy-efficient green benefits of its NCE escalator:
- A ReGen drive that captures energy generated by the escalator on the way down and delivers it back to the building for use by other systems, reducing energy consumption by up to 45 percent compared to traditional escalators.
- Power standby technology, which uses sensors that detect when passengers are not on the escalator, prompting the escalator to slow down and thereby use less energy.
- LED lighting that uses 30 percent less energy than traditional lighting.
- High-efficiency lubrication that uses 98 percent less oil than a traditional lubrication system.
- Power standby technology, which uses sensors that detect when passengers are not on the escalator, prompting the escalator to slow down and thereby use less energy.
Otis has also achieved substantial gains toward overall environmental objectives established under its The Way To Green commitment. The company has tracked progress against rigorous goals set in 2006 to conserve natural resources and reduce waste by 2015. To date, Otis has reduced industrial process waste of non-recyclable materials by 75 percent and non-greenhouse gas emissions by 74 percent, already surpassing its 2015 goals of 54 percent and 68 percent, respectively. Otis is also exceeding a number of 2011 year-to-date environmental objectives. The company is 21 percent ahead of the goal established for industrial product waste; 2 percent ahead of the goal for greenhouse gas emissions; and 19 percent ahead of the goal for water conservation.
In addition, Otis’ motor vehicle fleet, which accounts for approximately 55 percent of its total greenhouse gas emissions, has reduced its emissions by 26 percent, despite an increase in the total fleet of approximately 4 percent since tracking began in 2006.
“To reach these ambitious environmental goals, we examined every aspect of our business and implemented energy-efficient practices across all operations, from design and manufacturing to product development and end-of-product-life recycling,” said Michaud-Daniel. “Otis is also encouraging the adoption of our energy-saving products across all 200 countries and territories where we have a presence.”
Finally, Otis recently announced plans to build an energy-efficient manufacturing facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the expansion of its factory in Bangalore, India, which is being built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards.
