California Center for Sustainable Energy

Digital wireless technologies innovator Qualcomm, Inc has joined with CCSE to be the co-presenter of the fifth annual Solar Energy Week, San Diego’s premier solar energy event and kickoff to California’s Solar Energy Month in October. This is the fourth year Qualcomm has been a key sponsor of Solar Energy Week.

“We are incredibly pleased to be partnering with Qualcomm to speak to the community about solar energy, clean air and renewable lifestyles,” said Irene Stillings, CCSE executive director. “Qualcomm has had an energy-efficiency program starting back in the early 1990s and has demonstrated a high level of corporate environmental responsibility in reducing energy demand, using recycling methods and addressing global climate change concerns. They are a prime example of CCSE’s goals for a sustainable San Diego business.”

San Diego-based Qualcomm has 147 facilities totaling more than 6.8 million square feet operating in 15 states and 30 countries. According to Gail Welch, Qualcomm manager of sustainability, part of their corporate strategy is to consistently reduce consumption of natural resources.

“We are proud to sponsor Family Solar Day. As a company we are sensitive and aware of the environment and want to do our part to promote sustainable practices in the community,” Welch said. “We believe it is important to reach out to families and especially children to educate them about solar energy. We are fortunate to live in one of the most perfect climates for solar.  It’s the greenest and most reliable renewable energy source for San Diego.”

Qualcomm’s energy goals focus on maximizing energy efficiency and incorporating sustainable design/products in new construction and existing building retrofits, and reducing energy demand. They have two 4.5 MW cogeneration systems, 500 kW of solar photovoltaic, hybrid corporate vehicles and their corporate dining facilities in San Diego have been certified by the Green Restaurant Association.

In 2008, Qualcomm cut the ribbon on a 4.5 megawatt, state-of-the-art cogeneration plant at their San Diego Sorrento Mesa location. In combination with another onsite cogeneration plant at Qualcomm’s LEED Gold Certified “W” campus, it gives Qualcomm the ability to self-generate almost 90 percent of the electricity used at those locations.

Since 1992, the company has implemented more than 350 separate energy-efficiency projects, resulting in an annual savings of approximately 12 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 525,000 therms of natural gas – enough to power more than 2,000 California homes.

In 2009, Qualcomm was given the Recycler of the Year Award by the San Diego Environmental Services Department. Their San Diego offices recycled nearly two million pounds of recyclable material during the evaluation period.

In addition, Qualcomm is doing its part to conserve water by using reclaimed water for irrigation and cooling towers, installing water-saving plumbing and irrigation fixtures and implementing a water broom wash-down system for cleaning exterior surfaces. They have pre-plumbed new construction in San Diego for using reclaimed water even though the city’s infrastructure will not serve their location until 2011.

Qualcomm is a charter member of the California Climate Action Registry and has voluntarily reported its greenhouse gas emissions since 2002.