The 2018 Cox Corporate Social Responsibility Report CEI_2018_CSR_Report | Page 14

COX CONSERVES
CARBON: Our Journey
Toward Neutrality
The acceleration of carbon-induced climate
change poses a profound threat to our planet’s
ecosystems and the global economy. A 2018
U.N. climate report prepared by 91 scientists
who analyzed more than 6,000 scientific
studies is a call to action. The scientists predict
with high confidence that, at the current rate,
global warming above preindustrial levels will
reach 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees
Celsius) by 2040. Such an increase will induce
dramatic changes to our planet and would
create $54 trillion in economic damage to the
global economy. It’s clear we need to take bold
action to reduce carbon emissions and slow
the trends that jeopardize our future.
At Cox we know that to operate in an
environmentally responsible manner requires
us to limit our consumption of carbon-based
sources of energy. When Cox Conserves
launched in 2007, we had a goal to reduce
our carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2017.
After surpassing that initial goal, we committed
to make our business carbon neutral by 2044.
In pursuing that objective we’ve undertaken a
wide array of projects, to make our operations
more efficient and to derive more of our energy
from renewable sources. These initiatives have
enabled us to offset more than 100,000 tons of
carbon in 2018 while also making us a more
efficient and sustainable enterprise.
Focused on Comprehensive Energy Efficiency
Our energy conservation initiatives take many forms, including deliberate design choices in newer
facilities such as the Cox Campus in Atlanta, which has two LEED Gold certified buildings. Across our
footprint we’ve replaced nearly 50 legacy HVAC systems with more efficient alternatives, producing
a carbon reduction of 625 tons.
More efficient lighting, including the extensive introduction of LED systems, has been an important contributor to our
carbon reduction strategy. In 2018 alone, we completed 17 lighting upgrade projects across the United States.
At two of our California Manheim facilities, Riverside and San Francisco, we coupled LED installation with the addition
of onsite solar generation, maximizing the carbon offset benefits. The $2.2 million Riverside project includes a 900kW
solar installation atop four buildings. The changes have reduced energy demand from the grid by 80 percent, enough
energy to power 245 homes for a year and produce 2,050 tons of carbon reduction.
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