Erickson Retirement Communities’ Company-Wide “Green Campaign” Reduces, Reuses, Recycles

CATONSVILLE, MD (3/13/2009) – Erickson Retirement Communities, a Baltimore County-based company that develops and manages 20 retirement communities in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia, is ramping up its already eco-friendly operations. The company has launched its national Green Campaign, a coordinated effort that involves doing simple things that will have significant and lasting effects on the environment.

“Environmental sustainability is a hot topic whenever I visit our communities,” said Chief Operating Officer Mark Erickson. “At every campus I get questions from employees, residents, and board members. Personally, I am thrilled to see a growing awareness of the issues related to environmental sustainability. There has been a significant shift in understanding over the last couple of years.”

He continued, “The Erickson lifestyle and our business model have inherent environmental benefits by design. The simple choice of high density housing is more efficient than 1,500 individual, single-family homes. We see efficiency in the heating and cooling systems. It is more efficient to run central systems than 1,500 individual air conditioners. It is more efficient to cook in three or four professional, high quality kitchens than from 1,500 individual ovens.

“You could argue that when a resident chooses an Erickson lifestyle, she has the opportunity to reduce her carbon footprint by 50 percent in comparison to living in a single-family home,” Erickson said.
The company’s national Green Campaign includes initiatives in recycling, electricity, transportation, trash, cleaning products, and education, as well as plans to do more in the future.

Recycling

Recycling is a huge Erickson priority across the company; all Erickson communities have an extensive recycling program. Each apartment home is equipped with recycling containers and residents are encouraged to recycle paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and aluminum. In addition, a paper recycling program is available for all office operations, both at the communities and at Erickson’s corporate headquarters in Catonsville.

With multiple on-site restaurants at each community, used cooking oil also represents a huge opportunity for a positive environmental impact. Instead of disposing of the spent cooking oil, communities pay to have it recycled. Every gallon of cooking oil that is recycled saves nearly the same amount of imported petroleum.

Erickson communities also recently began recycling old carpet pulled up during campus renovation projects.

Electricity

The large size of Erickson campuses presents opportunities for energy-conservation, especially on enclosed bridges that connect buildings. To keep bridges warm in the winter and cool in the summer, climate-control systems are in place. Tinted bridge windows ensure that heat and air conditioners run efficiently.

Communities have also installed energy-management computer systems that conserve energy through load shedding. The computer monitors electrical use and automatically shuts off power for seven minutes each hour in common areas. Load shedding not only reduces overall energy consumption, it also decreases greenhouse gas emissions.

At new communities, like Ashby Ponds in Northern Virginia, all appliances in apartment homes have earned the U.S. government’s Energy Star label, which means they save 20-30 percent in energy consumption. Erickson’s established communities, including Charlestown and Oak Crest in Baltimore County, are also committed to using Energy Star appliances in their replacement programs.

At new communities, energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are the standard. At fully-built communities, incandescent light bulbs have all been replaced with CFLs, which can save more than 2,000 times their own weight in greenhouse gases and more than $30 per lamp.

Transportation

All Erickson communities operate a robust transportation system that helps keep cars off the roads by shuttling residents around the campus, to area shopping centers and to personal appointments. The communities also reduce the need for transportation by providing restaurants, cafes, doctors’ offices, stores, beauty salons, and fitness centers on-site at each community, within easily walkable communities.

Trash

Many communities have invested in industrial trash compactors. Because compacted garbage requires fewer pickups, it means less fuel used and fewer pollutants generated.

Cleaning

While many cleaning products contain harsh chemicals, natural ingredients are becoming more common. Greenspring recently replaced most of its cleaning chemicals with H2Orange, a single product that can clean and disinfect carpets, hard surfaces and glass. Without strong chemicals, H2Orange reduces pollutants and exposure to chemicals. In addition, Greenspring has invested in automatic dispensers to take the guesswork out of mixing for cleaning and laundry.

Microfiber rags and mops are becoming popular alternatives to cotton and other material. As microfibers are smaller, last longer, are more absorbent (they hold up to seven times its weight in water) and leave no lint, they require fewer laundry loads, and staff finds them easier to use.
Education

Each Erickson community helps get the word out about going green through resident-run councils, fliers, newsletters, internal television station programs and by working with individuals. The community educates on topics, including things residents can do to help the environment, reducing energy consumption and proper car maintenance. Erickson Retirement Communities founder and Chairman John Erickson recently produced a national educational energy-conservation video for residents and staff.

Going greener

Always trying to stay ahead of the curve, Erickson is currently exploring new ways of positively impacting the world. Some of the options under consideration include: purchasing hybrid cars, solar energy and LED lights. In addition, Erickson is exploring the possibility of converting some of its transportation fleet into bio-diesel, running off of spent cooking oil.
About Erickson Retirement Communities: Erickson Retirement Communities is one of the leading national developers of full-service retirement communities. Headquartered near Baltimore, Md., Erickson has built an innovative network of communities that combine a maintenance-free active lifestyle with a host of amenities, social activities, and wellness and medical centers, proven to improve both physical and mental health. Erickson was named by FORTUNE as being one of the Top 100 “Best Companies to Work For^®” in 2008 and 2009. The Erickson enterprise also encompasses the Retirement Living TV network; NorthBay environmental education center; the Erickson Health system; Erickson Advantage health plan; Renaissance Gardens assisted living, long-term nursing care, and short-term rehabilitation residences; The Erickson School at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); The Erickson Foundation; and Point Lookout conference center.

For more information about this story, please contact Mel Tansill at 410-402-2006 or Kate Newton Schmelyun at 410-402-2025.

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