Hartford Business Journal

16 Hartford Business Journal • June 19, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com • Water usage by 2.4 million gallons • Hazardous waste by 45,927 pounds • Nitrogen gas usage by 52 percent • Argon gas usage by 46 percent In addition, the company was a lead sponsor of the 2016 Source to Sea Connecticut River cleanup event last Septem- ber. Employees collected and disposed of eight tires, two pickup trucks full of trash, one metal I-beam section, sty- rofoam from floating docks, plastic and glass bottles, and other items. WINNER: O&G Industries Inc. Town: Torrington/New Milford Sector: Business/Industry Sustainability Components: Innovation O&G Industries Inc. (O&G) recently developed a compre- hensive, long-term mining and reclamation plan for its 342- acre limestone quarry in New Milford. The quarry has been active since the late 1800s and some of the earliest rock quarrying led to the development of a tunnel used to mine and extract rock within a portion of the property. The tunnel has evolved over time to serve as a bat habitat for various bat species. It is projected that the land area and reserves that contain the bat tunnel will not be mined for approximately another 12 to 15 years. In the meantime, O&G has taken a proactive approach to mitigate the impact of the tunnel's eventual loss by planning, designing and establishing an alternative bat habitat in a suit- able location well in advance of future mining activity. O&G retained the services of a mining engineer who spe- cializes in underground mining as well as a contractor that specializes in tunnel drilling and blasting to develop a new bat habitat at a location on the property that will not be impacted by any future mining. Drilling and blasting for the new bat habitat commenced in mid-June 2016 and was substantially complete within 13 months. State environmental officials are monitoring the new tunnel and are hopeful bats will roost there this coming winter. WINNER: Windsor Marketing Group Town: Suffield Sector: Business/Industry Sustainability Components: Energy and climate change; material management/recycling; and innovation In 2016, Windsor Marketing Group completed work on its new headquarters in Suffield that uses energy efficiency and eco-friendly systems. To save energy, the building uses T5 fluorescent lighting, which significantly reduces electricity consumption and lasts longer than conventional lights. Forty-eight motion sensors control 98 light fixtures in the company's warehouse and there are more than 300 LED fixtures throughout the building. Meantime, time-sensitive systems automatically heat and cool the facility. Windsor Marketing also uses environmentally friendly, soy- based and UV-based inks to lessen toxic emissions. All plates used in the company's printing process are recycled, and 80 percent of paper it uses is Forest Stewardship Council certi- fied, meaning it's sourced from responsibly managed forests. Windsor Marketing is also in the planning stages of siting a fuel cell that will allow it to produce power and heat for its facility. WINNER: Regional School District No. 8 Town: Hebron Sector: School Sustainability Components: Facility-wide initiatives; energy and climate change; innovation Regional School District No. 8, which includes RHAM high and middle schools, took several steps to reduce its energy consumption and costs during calendar year 2016. The district replaced over 4,000 light fixtures with new high-efficiency LED technologies and reduced lighting elec- tricity consumption by more than half, which is expected to save $86,000 a year. The district also retro-commissioned all of its HVAC sys- tems at its high school and middle school facilities. Energy efficiency equipment upgrades were added to better control heating and air conditioning, which will reduce annual elec- tricity and fossil fuel costs by over $36,000 in the first year. Last fall, the district also installed an electricity interval monitoring system in coordination with Eversource and a third-party service provider, which allows it to obtain real- time electricity usage data for the schools and proactively manage power use. The district is also building a 44-kilowatt solar array at its middle school, which will join a 190-kilowatt array at the adjacent high school. WINNER: Grace Farms Foundation Town: New Canaan Sector: Government/Institutional Sustainability Components: Facility-wide initiatives; energy and climate change; material management/ recycling; innovation; civic improvements; and water Grace Farms is owned and operated by the Grace Farms Foundation, which purchased the 80-acre parcel in 2008 to preserve it. About 77 acres are retained in perpetuity as open space, and the property contains over 900 trees, three ponds, 10 habi- tats and 40 bird species. The acreage includes a unique architectural feature known as the "River" building, a winding structure constructed with sustainability measures, including 55, 500-foot deep geother- mal wells that were dug to facilitate energy-efficient heating and cooling. The building was also designed to meet LEED standards in high-efficiency mechanical, electrical, plumb- ing and lighting systems. Additional efficiency measures included sourcing recycled and regional materials, as well as re-purposing wood felled on-site to construct furniture. The foundation also hosts various educational programs to teach children and adults about environmental sustain- ability. In addition, Grace Farms has an organic community garden that provides fruits and vegetables for its kitchen, 200 pounds of which has been donated to a local charity. In 2017, the foundation plans to utilize wind power and be 100 percent water bottle free. WINNER: God is Green Town: Orange/Bridgeport Sector: Business/Industry and Individual/Group Sustainability Components: Facility-wide initiatives; energy and climate change; innovation; and water "God is Green," was a collaboration between United Illu- minating, Energize Connecticut, the Environmental Protec- tion Agency and the city of Bridgeport. Launched in June 2015, the initiative aimed to help hous- es of worship become more environmentally conscious and friendly by educating them about energy efficiency as out- lined in Energy Star's action workbook for congregations. Over the 14 months that followed, the 19 participating houses of worship in Bridgeport received Energy Star bench- marking assessments at no-charge from energy consultant Paguridae LLC. During that period, 47 energy-efficiency improvements were installed or scheduled to be installed. Additionally, as part of the Energize Connecticut initiative, the Small Business Energy Advantage (SBEA) program and Connecticut Green Bank's Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program have provided the houses of worship with access to capital to make energy saving improvements. Due to this partnership, one house of worship earned Energy Star certification in 2016. Following the efforts in Bridgeport, similar programs have been launched in New Haven and Hartford. WINNER: Repair Cafe Town: Willimantic/Chaplin Sector: Individual/Group Sustainability Components: Material management/ recycling; innovation For the last three years a multi-member coalition has teamed up to host "Repair Cafes," which promote recycling and sustainability. Inspired by an international movement that began in Hol- land in 2009, the Repair Cafe concept has spread across the European Union and United States, but there is only one known effort in Connecticut. The effort was launched by members of a Storrs-Mansfield Continued GreenCircle Awards Church of Praise Pastor Michon-White Bernard poses with church, United Illuminating and other officials. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D Rooftop solar panels atop RHAM high and middle schools. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D An aerial view of Grace Farms' unique River building. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D WMG's new headquarters in Suffield. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D 0&G blasted a tunnel to build a habitat for bats. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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