Prudential Financial just took a big step toward its goal to reduce its carbon emissions 30 percent by 2013.

The company made the pledge in 2003, giving itself 10 years to achieve its goal.

“We don’t like to make forward-looking statements,” Prudential spokeswoman Karen Moore said. “But we’re on track to meet the goal.”

Prudential celebrated the expansive solar system, installed at its Scottsdale, Ariz., location, earlier this week.

That system gets the company significantly closer to its overall goal, said Michael Perrette, Prudential vice president in charge of corporate facilities.

Prudential has also installed solar on its headquarters in New Jersey and has spent the last several years making big energy-efficiency improvements.

Prudential has worked hard to blend energy savings techniques with energy generation technologies.

“That’s our strategy,” Perrette said. “And we’re sticking to it.”

The solar system installed in New Jersey earlier this year features 2,678 photovoltaic solar panels and is expected to produce 500 kilowatts of power, about 3 percent of the building’s need, according to a press release.

The Arizona solar project is the largest commercial facility solar project in the state, according to the release. It includes more than 4,500 panes that will produce about 885 kilowatt-hours of power, approximately 30 percent of the building’s need, according to the release.

The panels were installed on the building roof as well as a brand new parking garage.

“If you know Phoenix at all, you know they love that parking garage,” Perrette said. “Every time I went down there, they said, ‘Mr. Perrette, can we please have a parking garage?’”

He said the solar systems made financial sense as well as environmental sense, especially because of state and federal tax incentives.

Perrette said Prudential has been looking for opportunities to install solar panels for a couple years now.

“We’re always looking,” he said. “There are a couple other buildings we’re looking at seriously for solar. We’re also looking at the possibility of wind generation.”

Perrette said he expects the new solar panel installations in New Jersey and Arizona to save the company more than $3 million over the next 10 years.

Image courtesy of Nj.com.