You may know about the fuel economy the 2012 Chevy Malibu (33 MPG hwy) and Buick Lacrosse eAssist (36 MPG hwy) achieve, but did you know the plant that builds them also has some green credentials?

Fairfax Assembly & Stamping recently earned a 2012 Pollution Prevention Award from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, in recognition of its efforts to reduce energy use and actively recycle waste.

To qualify, 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.

GM Fairfax, along with all other GM operations, seeks opportunities to assess and reduce its footprint.

“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.”