For Immediate Release: Friday, Aug. 10, 2012
GM Fairfax Gets Kansas Pollution Prevention Award
Assembly Plant recognized for energy efficiency and recycling efforts
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment awarded General
Motors Fairfax Assembly & Stamping – home of the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Lacrosse – with
a 2012 Pollution Prevention Award, citing plant-wide efforts to reduce energy use and actively
recycle waste.
The plant is committed to ongoing efforts to reduce energy use and conserve resources. It
constantly assesses its environmental impact with the goal of continuous improvement.
“Our facility is dedicated to going above and beyond compliance with environmental laws to
ensure we adhere to responsible environmental business practices,” said Megan McCutcheon,
environmental engineer at the plant. “At Fairfax Assembly, we consider environmental impact
throughout all aspects of our business operations and manufacturing.”
GM Fairfax demonstrated progress in several areas last year:
 Replaced lights with more energy-efficient fixtures and adjusted temperature set points
during cooling and heating seasons; established energy-saving goals.
 Reduced annual CO2 emissions by more than 20,000 tons – equivalent to one year of
greenhouse gas emissions from more than 3,500 vehicles.
 Minimized landfill use through recycling byproducts, including scrap metal. In 2011, it
disposed of only 9 percent of its waste in a landfill, recycling, reusing and converting the
rest to energy.
“The GM Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant and all our Kansas Pollution Prevention award
winners are working to reduce energy usage and waste to continue to improve their
communities and places of work,” said John Mitchell, director, KDHE Division of Environment.
“These pollution prevention efforts not only help the environment, but also our economy and
well-being.”
GM’s commitment to energy efficiency and waste reduction is ongoing.
In 2011, it received the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award for energy and
greenhouse gas emissions reductions. That year, 30 GM plants – including Fairfax Assembly –
met the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry, cutting energy intensity by an average of
25 percent at plants in North America over three years and avoiding $50 million in energy costs
as a result.
GM recently added its 100th landfill-free facility. No other automaker has as many facilities
sending zero waste to landfill. All of its worldwide facilities combined – including landfill-free
plants and all others – recycle or reuse more than 90 percent of the waste they generate.
For more information on GM’s environmental commitment, visit its sustainability report and
environmental blog.
General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the
company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM’s
brands include Chevrolet and Cadillac, as well as Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel,
Vauxhall and Wuling. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global
leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.
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CONTACT:
Lauren Indiveri
Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Communications
646-430-4330
lauren.indiveri@gm.com