CEO says company supports goal to cut emissions from buildings

Johnson Controls Chairman and CEO George Oliver joined President Joe Biden for the president’s virtual Leaders Summit on Climate.

The two-day summit, which kicked off on Earth Day, April 22, 2021, featured world leaders, other governmental officials and business leaders, including Oliver, who said Johnson Controls would do its part to help the United States meet its goal to cut emissions by about 50 percent by the end of the decade.

“In my role as Chairman and CEO of Johnson Controls, a global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, we’re eager to drive harder and faster to cut the 40% of greenhouse gases that come from buildings,” he said. “The good news is when we do that, the upgrades pay for themselves because we are cutting energy waste.”

Oliver said Biden’s goal to re-vamp 4 million large commercial and residential buildings to cut emissions was realistic. “We at Johnson Controls know that can be done – and we would be foolish not to do it, because inefficient buildings are a climate hazard and because money is wasted right along with the energy,” Oliver said. “Working with our customers, we’ve cut emissions by more than 30 million tons and saved them $6 billion.

Oliver, who also serves as chair of the Business Roundtable Energy and Environment Committee, said Roundtable members believe the risks posed by climate change are “real, they’re increasing, they are costly, and they may be irreversible.”

He concluded: “At the Business Roundtable and Johnson Controls we know that when we take this challenge on, we will cut emissions and costs, create good jobs and build resilient, healthy infrastructure,” Oliver said. “Mr. President, we are ready to get to work.”

During the summit, Biden pledged that the United States would cut its emissions by 50 to 52 percent by the end of the decade under the Paris climate agreement, joining other world leaders who made similar promises.

“The commitments we’ve made must become real,” Biden said in his concluding remarks. “Commitment without us doing it — it’s just a lot of hot air.”