Sustainability is the focus at Whirlpool

Jeff Fettig, chairman and CEO of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR), discussed the company’s environmental responsibility as the leader in the global home appliance industry during a keynote address at EE Global 2013 yesterday. The event concludes this afternoon in Washington, D.C.

Opening the plenary session on, “The Next Generation of Energy Efficiency: Driving Productivity through Investment, Modernization and Education,” Fettig issued a call to action to the appliance industry, consumers and government agencies.

“Today, there are more than 860 million appliances in the U.S. This is a huge industry with a huge impact, which is why Whirlpool incorporates energy efficiency into everything we do. Every appliance we make is more energy efficient than the appliance we made a year ago, five years ago and 10 years ago,” said Fettig.

Fettig emphasized that focusing on appliance replacement is our biggest opportunity in energy efficiency. As an example, a new washer today is 77 percent more efficient than one from the year 2000 and only costs $66 a year to run. Consumers who replace older models would save $117 a year. He also discussed the advantages of the company’s new suite of smart appliances, which have the capability to “talk” to the electrical grid. These appliances can shift energy consumption to reduce impact during peak energy usage times.

“These approaches make sense for consumers by delivering on performance, being cost-effective and having a big impact on saving our precious natural resources,” he said.

Fettig offered specific examples to illustrate how improvements in appliances are saving energy:

• Refrigerators are bigger and have better features; yet they cost less to buy and operate and are more energy efficient. A modern refrigerator uses less energy than a 60-watt light bulb.
• Front-load washing machines can hold 20 percent more laundry than they did in the year 2000, yet they are 70 percent more efficient. Also, today’s washers use 26 fewer gallons of water than 13 years ago, equaling 8,000 gallons saved per year.
• If newer dishwasher models with heightened standards were in every home in the U.S., it would save 270 billion gallons of water annually. Over the lifetime of the products, that’s enough water to fill more than 40 million Olympic swimming pools.
• All the refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers and clothes washers shipped to consumers last year will save 111 trillion kWh during their lifetime. That’s enough energy to power Washington, D.C. for 60 years.