San José, California – December 14, 2007 – Fairchild Semiconductor’s Silicon Valley site held its first “Green Awareness Day” today as part of an ongoing initiative to encourage employees to be environmental stewards in the workplace and at home. This event represents a vital partnership between a Silicon Valley high-technology company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the City of San José collaborating to promote energy-efficiency and conservation. 

Green Awareness Day highlights included:

• Remarks by Fairchild’s CEO Mark Thompson. With the company’s focus on driving energy-efficiency in today’s electronic applications, he encouraged employees to be aware of ways they can decrease energy usage and contribute to energy conservation.
• A PG&E presentation, “30 Things You Can Do,” offered tips on how employees can reduce energy consumption and costs both at home and on the job.
• A compact fluorescent bulb giveaway by PG&E encouraged Fairchild employees to replace their incandescent light bulbs with more energy-efficient alternatives.
• A new program was introduced to track Fairchild’s ongoing energy usage in San José, with the results posted so employees can identify ways to help reduce energy consumption and understand their impact in energy conservation.
• The kick-off for a comprehensive energy assessment that will be performed on Fairchild’s San José facility, identifying technologies and practices to reduce facility energy use and rebates to fund these improvements.
• The culmination of a week-long e-waste recycling program, provided by the Outback Equipment Company, offered employees a safe way to dispose of unwanted electronics such as PCs, notebooks and printers.

This program is part of the Silicon Valley Energy Watch (SVEW) program, a partnership between Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of San José to coordinate local professional energy-efficiency training, energy-efficiency outreach and connections to a network of more than 30 other energy-efficiency programs serving Santa Clara County. Specific energy-efficiency programs target builders, small business, high tech, and schools, among others.

Fairchild is the first mid-size company to partner in this approach with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s 10-point “Clean and Green Regional Action Plan.” This pilot program tests employee interest in energy-efficiency information with the goal of expanding similar programs to other Silicon Valley organizations in the future.

“We applaud Fairchild for taking the initiative to hold a Green Awareness Day and to invite the local utility, business and government representatives to participate,” commented Frank Teng, senior associate of Environment and Energy at the Leadership Group. “Fairchild has taken an important step in spreading awareness in our community that businesses and individuals alike must do their part to reduce energy consumption.”

Representatives who attended the Green Awareness Day included Bill Holloway and Mark Sturman from PG&E; Frank Teng from the Silicon Valley Leadership Group; and Barry Hooper and Shayna Hirshfield from the City of San José’s Environmental Services Department.