SANTA ROSA, Calif.– Redwood Credit Union (RCU) is reporting it has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR certification for commercial buildings for its administrative office at 3033 Cleveland Ave.
To be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, a building must earn an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher on EPA’s 1 - 100 scale. RCU’s Santa Rosa office achieved a score of 97—meaning the building meets strict energy performance standards and is outperforming 97 percent of similar buildings nationwide.
ENERGY STAR certified buildings save energy, money, and help protect the environment by generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings. Together, all 38,000 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings have prevented more than 21.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the credit union said.
“RCU has been working hard over the past few years to reduce our energy footprint,” said Kimberly Williams, senior vice president of strategy, projects, and corporate real estate. “Investing in green technology and helping our communities do the same is integral to what we do.”
RCU said it has been investing for years in green technology such as its 2,000+ solar panels powering 61% of the Santa Rosa office. Their sustainability programs include loan discounts on qualified energy-efficient and hybrid vehicles, solar loans, yearly community shred-a-thons to securely dispose of sensitive documents, companywide recycling, and an online green center at redwoodcu.org/green.
“Educating on the use of green-friendly services is also a focus for the credit union. Members are encouraged to take advantage of paper-free online and mobile banking, online bill pay, and eStatements, reducing visits to the branches and emissions,” the credit union said. “To date, 85% of RCU’s membership uses those technologies. “