Better Plants

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings, Better Plants Program and Challenge (Better Plants) is partnering with leading manufacturers and water utilities to improve energy efficiency and competitiveness in the industrial sector, saving money in the process. Through the Better Plants program, partners voluntarily set a specific goal, typically to reduce energy intensity by 25% over a 10-year period across all their U.S. operations. Industrial organizations may also commit to the higher-level Better Plants Challenge and share their energy performance data and energy-efficiency solutions—in addition to setting an energy-saving goal—so that many more companies can see a pathway to savings. DOE supports these efforts with technical assistance and national recognition.

190 organizations have joined Better Plants, representing workers at thousands of industrial facilities across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. 14 partners are members of the Fortune 100, the largest U.S. corporations by gross revenue. Three—Ford Motor Company, General Electric, and General Motors—rank in the top 10. Thirty-five partners have already achieved their energy-saving goals and many have renewed their commitments to the partnership by setting new goals. Read the 2016 Progress Update to learn how program participants have saved more than $3 billion in cumulative energy cost savings in just six years.

Better Plants is also part of DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative, a multi-sector effort with the overarching goal of significantly improving the energy efficiency of commercial, residential, and industrial buildings in the United States.