MOBIL CORPORATION

This teaching note describes a case study on how Fred Schoeneborn, a coordinator at Mobil Corporation, successfully implemented the Green Lights lighting retrofit initiative across a large organization despite lacking direct authority over facilities managers.

• Fred Schoeneborn implemented the Green Lights initiative by first proving its viability through a successful experiment at the Princeton facility, which demonstrated that the audit and retrofit procedure could produce significant savings and reduce perceived risk for other managers.
• To overcome the lack of direct authority over facilities managers, Schoeneborn built an informal network by asking known managers to contact others, and he facilitated knowledge exchange through a weekly bulletin and external expertise from individuals like Harry Kauffman of Johnson & Johnson.
• Schoeneborn incentivized facilities managers—who typically operated in cost-centers with little recognition—by publicizing their successes to top management, translating cost savings into the equivalent amount of additional oil sales, and providing 'Execute Energy Efficiency' awards for saving over $1 million or cutting usage by 5%.
• The Green Lights program was completed two years ahead of schedule, with Mobil investing $2.17 million in lighting upgrades to achieve annual savings exceeding $1.13 million. The company received the EPA's 'Partner of the Year' award in 1994 and the 'Sustained Excellence by a Green Lights Partner or Ally' award the following year.
• Following the success of Green Lights, Mobil developed a comprehensive energy management policy and committed to saving $25 million annually for five years through energy efficiency projects, having already saved approximately $22.4 million in 1995.

APA

Day, R., & Arnold, M. (1996). MOBIL CORPORATION. World Resources Institute. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/tn_1-56973-157-8_teaching_note_english.pdf

Chicago

Day, Robert, and Mathew Arnold. MOBIL CORPORATION. World Resources Institute, 1996. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/tn_1-56973-157-8_teaching_note_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Day |first1=Robert |last2=Arnold |first2=Mathew |title=MOBIL CORPORATION |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=1996 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/bell/tn_1-56973-157-8_teaching_note_english.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{day1996mobil, author = {Day, Robert and Arnold, Mathew}, title = {{MOBIL CORPORATION}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {1996}, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/bell/tn_1-56973-157-8_teaching_note_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }