Our Operations

While we can drive environmental impact reductions through our products, we also have an opportunity to reduce our footprint through efficiently managing our own operations. UTC is committed to reducing environmental impacts, and we work relentlessly to optimize our energy, materials and resource use at our factories around the world.

We measure our environmental impacts each year and report on our performance here.

LEED-Certified Construction

Through yearend 2010, nine of our sites have received the U.S. Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (L.E.E.D.) certification, most recently in Istanbul, Turkey. Over 20 additional LEED projects are in various stages of planning, construction and certification. The system provides a framework and methods to incorporate sustainable design practices into our facilities. Buildings that are LEED® certified are deemed to be more energy efficient, producing fewer carbon emissions and using less water and other natural resources. Read more about our LEED-certified facilities around the world in CR in Depth.

Our Management Approach

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG)

We reduce our GHG emissions at our plants primarily through energy conservation and process improvements. This not only helps preserve natural resources, it also saves us money. In 2006 UTC committed to identify opportunities and to spend $100 million on energy efficiency projects including co-generation. We are proud to report that we identified over 1,250 projects, valued at $180 million, and funded over $127 million, over half of which was for co-generation projects.

Co-generation technology offers the dual benefit of reducing emissions and lowering operating costs. Multiple UTC sites, including the Newington Data Center and the Pratt & Whitney plant in Middletown, Connecticut, have converted to this technology. Read more about how we are integrating co-generation technology at our sites around the world in CR in Depth.

Water Consumption

Water in our plants is primarily used for process cooling. We work to reduce water consumption at all UTC sites through aggressive absolute reduction goals, conservation projects and water conservation technologies. Read about our work to reduce water consumption in CR in Depth.

Because we have sites around the world, and because water issues vary significantly depending on geographic region, we use the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Water Tool and other similar models to identify water scarcity areas and risks of our global operations. We then work with UTC business units to determine how best to manage and mitigate water risks..

Air Emissions (non-Greenhouse Gas)

UTC requires the measurement and reduction of industrial process air emissions of approximately 100 chemicals. These chemicals include Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPS) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other chemicals most commonly used at our facilities. These efforts are in accordance with ongoing regulatory air toxic reduction programs and continual elimination of VOCs in paints, coatings, lubricants and solvents by material suppliers. Reporting of these emissions is mandatory and conducted quarterly as required by our corporate environmental reporting standard.

Waste

Industrial facility operations and processes can produce large amounts of waste. In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of our operations, and the costs associated with waste handling, storage, treatment and disposal, and risk and compliance management, UTC requires the measurement and reduction of site industrial waste. We target our waste reductions using two perspectives - the total volume of industrial waste and the volume of industrial waste we do not recycle - and have different reduction requirements for each type. In addition to volume reductions, our program encourages the treatment of waste consistent with a best practices/least impact hierarchy of reuse, recycling, treatment and disposal. Reporting of site waste volumes and waste types is mandatory and conducted quarterly as required by our corporate environmental reporting standard.