ecomagination

Our Ecomagination Commitments

To make ecomagination a long-term business strategy, GE set very real, aggressive targets for ecomagination performance:

1. Increase revenues from ecomagination products

   GE has set a target to grow revenues from ecomagination products with an annual revenue goal of $25 billion in 2010. As of May 2009, the ecomagination portfolio includes more than 80 products and the company has generated more than $17 billion in revenues in 2008.

2. Double investment in R&D

   GE aims to invest $1.5 billion in cleaner R&D by 2010. In 2008, GE invested more than $1.4 billion in cleaner technologies, up from $750 million in 2005.

3. Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve the energy efficiency of GE’s operations

   GE’s internal GHG and energy efficiency plan, called 1-30-30, aims to reduce absolute GHG emissions worldwide by 1 percent by 2012, reduce the intensity of GHG emissions 30 percent by 2008 and improve energy efficiency 30 percent by the end of 2012 (all versus 2004 levels).  GE has already surpassed its first goal of reducing intensity of GHG emissions by 30 percent in 2008.

4. Reduce water use and improve water reuse

   In May 2008, GE announced its goal to reduce our water consumption by 20 percent by 2012 from a 2006 baseline.

5. Keep the public informed

   GE engages the public through our ecomagination Annual Report, ecomagination.com, dozens of global conferences and work with public policy engagements, including USCAP.

Ecomagination Products

To ensure that product introduction is met with the highest degree of integrity, GE employs a rigorous qualification process to include new ecomagination products in the portfolio. GE’s process began with establishing a clear standard for ecomagination products based on two criteria. Ecomagination offerings are:

Products that significantly and measurably improve customers’:
1. Operating performance or value proposition and
2. Environmental performance
or services that substantially enable such improvements.

At the heart of this standard is GE’s belief that “green is green” — that by investing in and developing environmentally advanced products and services, GE will deliver solutions that increase customers’ ability to compete and win. GE uses the Ecomagination Product Review (EPR) process that quantifies a product’s environmental and operational benefits relative to an appropriate baseline. To ensure accuracy of the process, GE incorporates a third-party quantitative audit for GE’s product claims.

For a full list of ecomagination products, go to the Products section on ecomagination.com.

Recent Efforts

Smart Grid

GE has one of the broadest portfolios of Smart Grid solutions available today, ranging from energy distribution to financing and helping utilities. GE continues to work with customers around the world to deploy solutions that bring governments, utilities and consumers toward a more energy-efficient tomorrow.

Public Policy

GE was a founding member of the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) which is a group of businesses and leading environmental organizations that have come together to call on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

R&D

GE has around 30,000 technologists located around the world in our businesses and four global research centers. In 2008, GE invested $1.4 billion on cleaner technology research and development (R&D), drawing closer to our pledge to invest $1.5 billion on ecomagination R&D by 2010. R&D investment has reached a total of more than $4 billion since the program’s inception.

Venture Capital Investments

Our GE Energy Financial Services Venture Capital group invests in early and later growth stage companies that have innovative offerings in clean technology. These technologies range from Smart Grid to advanced battery technologies to solar power. The ability to leverage GE’s combined financial, technical and commercial expertise to assist our portfolio makes GE a compelling venture capital partner. 

Ecomagination Annual Report

GE has reported on ecomagination metrics and progress since its inception in 2005. Each year, we publish the ecomagination Annual Report. The 2008 ecomagination Annual Report, titled "ecomagination is GE" can be found in the Annual Report section of ecomagination.com.

Advertising

In 2008, GE launched a series of new advertisements with a common refrain, “Now,” and a shared theme, “Innovation you don’t have to wait for.” Included in the multi-faceted campaign was a focus on Smart Grid, GE’s vision for a more efficient electrical energy grid. The campaign featured GE’s first Super Bowl ad, called “Scarecrow,” that focused on Smart Grid technology. A modern take on the classic song, “If I Only Had A Brain,” from the film The Wizard of Oz, the ad imagines what can happen when old technologies become smarter.

In addition to the broadcast advertisement, GE also launched ecomagination print advertisements focusing on renewable technologies. On the digital front, GE incorporated breakthrough technology called augmented reality that is featured on its new microsite — www.PlugIntoTheSmartGrid.com. Augmented reality is technology that augments real-world elements with digital holograms, so consumers can see a digital hologram of Smart Grid technology come to life in their hands. This digital campaign spread virally across the web on blogs, and YouTube as consumers interacted with the brand to learn more about Smart Grid technology.  

See more ecomagination advertising in the Advertising & Images section of ecomagination.com.