CARSTAR has created a Certified Green program with partners including the EPA’s Collision Repair Campaign, Energy Star and Certified Green Investment to guide its collision centers through enacting smart environmental management practices and delivering continual improvements on a yearly basis. CARSTAR is encouraging its shops to adopt green repair practices – from new painting technology to energy saving techniques to environmental improvements – to help reduce the shops’ carbon footprints.
“We want to do our part to help improve the environment and enhance how the thousands of collision repairs that happen in CARSTAR locations impact their local communities,” said Dick Cross, CEO of CARSTAR Collision Centers. “There have been tremendous improvements in repair technology, new methods for decreasing energy use and better ways to reduce waste that, collectively, help the collision centers deliver a more ‘green’ car repair. We’re proud of the many CARSTAR stores who have achieved Certified Green status and look forward to having all of the CARSTAR stores embrace this important effort.”
The CARSTAR Certified Green program will help deliver projected annual savings of $5,300 to each CARSTAR Collision Center, along with an annual “Eco Savings” of 26.7 percent, a reflection of the reduction in environmental pollution and contribution toward global greenhouse gas reduction. Certified Green stores also qualify for tax credits, utility service rebates, government grants and other benefits such as reduced insurance premiums, workers comp discounts and compliance concessions.
The first CARSTAR stores to achieve Certified Green status are CARSTAR Metcalf in Stillwell, Kan., and Scuderi Auto Body CARSTAR in Rockville, Md.
To achieve this, the CARSTAR stores are modernizing their equipment, changing to waterborne paint systems, adding energy efficient light fixtures, updating heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls, improving pollution prevention measures and employing smart waste management practices.
“Going green has definitely delivered a big benefit to our business,” said Chip Scuderi, owner, Scuderi Auto Body CARSTAR in Rockville, Md. “We converted to waterborne paint two years ago, and have continued to make improvements in our lighting, our waste management and our recycling.”
“We’ve seen a great reaction from customers, who are happy to know that their cars are being repaired in an environmentally friendly way,” added Scuderi. “And the insurance companies have been very receptive to the changes. We will continue to make additional changes in the way we operate the business and repair cars to improve our environmental responsibility.”
More information:
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