Hartford, CT – Legrand, North America hosted U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) along with state energy efficiency advocates Monday at its U.S. headquarters in West Hartford, Connecticut. The officials were there to recognize Legrand as a manufacturer that’s leading the charge to strengthen energy efficiency standards and rally support for a pending federal energy bill.
The visit was prompted after Senator Blumenthal spoke to U.S. Congress last week on “The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act” (S.1392), which is currently under debate in the U.S. Senate. If enacted, the bill will provide new federal funding for workforce training; initiate a program to recognize and support manufacturers who optimize their supply chains; and offer support for updating energy codes for federal buildings and new construction.
Legrand worked closely with Blumenthal on an amendment to the bill that would require that the U.S. Department of Energy study the non-monetary benefits of energy saving products and building energy code compliance.
“We were honored to host Senator Blumenthal at Legrand to see first-hand energy efficient innovation taking place here and across all of the Legrand product lines,” said John Selldorff, President and CEO of Legrand, North America. “Legrand and Senator Blumenthal are wholly united on educating the building community and consumers on the tremendous importance of reducing energy consumption and realizing the cost savings that come with that effort. We are confident the studies proposed in the amendment will bring forth abundant and persuasive evidence of the benefits that we as a company have already earned through our own energy-reduction program and policies.”
During the Senator’s visit Monday, he toured the company’s 258,000-square-foot West Hartford manufacturing facility. The site is one of 14 Legrand facilities nationwide that have focused on reducing energy intensity as part of the Department of Energy’s Better Building, Better Plants Program (BBBP). Overall, the company has reached a 29 percent energy intensity reduction since 2010. Blumenthal also visited the company’s Experience Center, an interactive, hands-on demonstration room showcasing the company’s energy saving innovations and underscoring the benefits of energy efficiency to consumers and businesses, where he rallied support for the pending legislation.
“Legrand is a fantastic example of how manufacturers and business can play a significant role in improving the environment by reducing its own impact and prompting nationwide change,” Blumenthal said. “If we are concerned at all of climate disruption—of the erosion of our shores, rising sea levels and more frequent and catastrophic weather—we must demand action on energy efficiency. This bipartisan bill is a win-win for our economy and our environment — saving consumers $13.7 billion per year, supporting 164,000 jobs by 2030, resulting in cumulative energy savings equal to the combined energy consumption of the entire states of Michigan and California over the next 15 years.”
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