News Room
March 19, 2009
Redwood Credit Union Recognized For Environmental Practices
RCU Receives “Best Practices” Award for Environmental Efforts
Santa Rosa , CA – Redwood Credit Union (RCU) was recently honored with a “Best Practices” award from the Sonoma County Business Environmental Alliance (BEA). The Credit Union was recognized for their environmentally-responsible practices, including recycling programs; green educational information on their website; and numerous sustainability efforts in their branches and Santa Rosa Administrative Offices, located at 3033 Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa, which earned silver-level Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) certification last year.
- BEA Co-Chair Scott Kirk, RCU’s Executive VP and COO Anne Benjamin and First District Supervisor Valerie Brown
“The Sonoma County BEA promotes the economic benefits of responsible environmental practices and provides resources to enable businesses to implement these measures. A recent breakfast meeting was held in Sonoma County where the annual awards honoring local companies exhibiting leadership in these areas were handed out, and Anne Benjamin, RCU’s Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer was on hand to receive the award on behalf of the Credit Union.
“RCU is committed to the environment, and are honored to receive the BEA Best Practices Award for our sustainability efforts,” said Anne Benjamin. “We believe in ‘doing the right thing’ and protecting and preserving our natural resources for present and future generations is just one of the many ways we practice that,” Benjamin added.
Noteworthy elements of RCU’s LEED certified Administrative Offices include: recycling building materials from the interior demolition; using recycled materials throughout the building including carpeting, linoleum, hardwood flooring, and lighting fixtures; water-efficient landscaping surrounding the building; automatic “stepped lighting” devices that sense available daylight levels and switch off when existing light is available; motion sensors that detect when a room is unoccupied; EnergyStar compliant appliances; and waterless urinals and dual-flush low-flow toilets. The Credit Union has also included many of these features at their newest branch in Cloverdale. All RCU branches have recycling programs in place, and the RCU website features a “Green Center” with consumer information and green tips.
Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution, serving the North Bay since 1950. The Credit Union offers a wide range of affordable financial services for both consumers and small business owners, and has 15 branch locations throughout the North Bay. Membership is open to anyone living or working in eight North Bay counties, including Sonoma, Marin, Napa and San Francisco. Currently ranked 54th largest Credit Union of over 8,000 nationwide, RCU serves 150,000 Members and has $1.8 in assets. For more information, please call (707) 545-4000 or 1 (800) 479-7928, or visit www.redwoodcu.org.
