Green is not just the color of money, it is the color of social-responsibility

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Prudential installs solar panels on its Scottsdale building and charging stations for electric cars

Prudential Financial, Inc. today announced that it has installed solar panels on its office building in Scottsdale, Arizona and added charging stations to be used for electric cars when they become widely available.

"Solar panels are important elements of the comprehensive approach Prudential has taken to reduce our carbon emissions by more than one third over the last ten years," said Michael Perrette, vice president and head of Corporate Facilities at Prudential at a ceremony today at the company's Scottsdale office facility. "Over the next decade, they will help us save millions of dollars in energy costs and help us further reduce our overall carbon footprint." He said the company also has installed solar panels in two of its New Jersey buildings and plans to install more in other building in the future.

The solar panel installation project in Scottsdale also included constructing a covered employee parking facility and the addition of several car charging stations. "We hope these charging stations encourage the use of electric cars. In the coming years, we anticipate adding charging stations in other Prudential facilities as demand grows," Perrette said.

To help make the panels more affordable, Prudential received an incentive through Arizona Public Service's Renewable Energy Incentive Program. "By adding solar panels and an electric charging station, Prudential is demonstrating its leadership in helping to create a sustainable energy future for Arizona. said Eran Mahrer, Director of Renewable Energy for APS. "The company is joining thousands of other APS customers in helping drive the adoption of solar energy in the state."

Perrette said the solar panels in Scottsdale involved installing 4,508 panels that generate approximately 30 percent of the building's power use, with a peak output of 885 kilowatt hours. That equates to more than 225 cars off the road, more than 2,445 barrels of oil not consumed each year and a reduction of about 1,051 metric tons of carbon emissions.

Through its ongoing Commitment to the Environment, Prudential is working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and to help ensure environmental sustainability both in the U.S. and abroad. The company has recycling and Green IT and printing programs, and has investments in wind power and socially responsible investment funds. It also is a member of various environmentally-focused organizations and is committed to the disclosure of its domestic environmental footprint (Scopes 1 and 2) through the Carbon Disclosure Project. In 2007, Prudential made a commitment to achieve a 10 percent reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions within five years.

Initiatives implemented by various Prudential business units and corporate centers have helped lower carbon emissions by about 18,000 tons a year, the equivalent of removing 3,300 cars from the road for one year. These include a migration to Energy Star computers; physical changes to data centers to reduce the number of servers used and energy consumption; two-sided printing; elimination of paper faxing in many areas and reduced paper use; reuse, recycling, sale, or donation of PDAs, cell phones, and PCs; purchasing equipment from 'green'-conscious manufacturers; a 'green print' procurement program designed to reduce the amount of paper used to print and copy documents; supporting alternative work arrangements; and participating in the TransitChek(R) Transit Reimbursement Incentive Program where available to encourage employees to use mass transit. Earlier this year, . Read Full Story



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1 comment:

  1. I hope there are more companies that will follow the good example set by Prudential Financial Inc. Going green is good for our environment.
    Sacramento Solar

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