Challenge Spotlights Six Businesses
WillowTree conducts a River Clean Up
The 2020-2021 Better Business Challenge was launched last January. Little did we know that six weeks later COVID would hit, causing many businesses to come to a grinding halt. Charlottesville and Albemarle-based nonprofits, schools, congregations, and businesses (including our team at C3) had to pivot.
Despite the challenges 2020 brought, businesses are bouncing back, taking action, and making a difference. With just four months left in this friendly competition, perhaps these six participants can inspire your business team into action. After all, it’s a New Year with new possibilities and plenty of time before we award top performers this June!
WillowTree
Before WillowTree moved into their new Woolen Mills location last year, their team worked with the property owner to upgrade the lighting to 100% LEDs. They coordinated the installation of lighting technologies that respond to the amount of natural light in their large common area to avoid wasted energy.
And since their new location rests just yards away from Moores Creek that flows into the scenic Rivanna River, in November they partnered with the Rivanna Conservation Alliance to do an employee river clean up (see above photo).
Renaissance School
The Renaissance School is a member of our Green Schools Network and Better Business Challenge. In addition to regularly tending and beautifying their outdoor space, their Earth Club turned to their indoor space and coordinated with LEAP to get an assessment on their downtown building. This provided them with a list of actions to improve their energy efficiency.
Bailey Printing shows off their LED lighting retrofit
Bailey Printing
The team at Bailey Printing recently replaced their entire warehouse with all LEDs! They went from two 8’ bulbs that were using 45-65 watts each to now only running two 4’ bulbs that use only 14w each. With over 200+ fixtures in the building, it has made a big difference!
They saw a 10% drop in their electricity bill. Moreover, they have better lighting, instant lighting in the cold, no heat from the ballasts (which will be great in the summer), no noise and no more changing light bulbs!
ReadyKids crew is ready for climate action
ReadyKids
ReadyKids worked with C3 last year to get a deep assessment of their building's energy efficiency and solar potential. With this depth of knowledge, they are set to rock the Better Business Challenge with a green team hungry for energy savings!
Cville REA
Did you know that Charlottesville is home to nine renewable energy companies? These nine companies make up the Charlottesville Renewable Energy Alliance (Cville REA). This fall some of their employee members joined a virtual climate trivia night hosted by C3 and subsequently started a community group for our 4th Season in the Home Energy Challenge to help employees begin saving energy at home!
Indoor Biotechnologies accepts Industry Leader Award
Indoor Biotechnologies
Sustainability leadership is no stranger to Indoor Biotechnologies. They won the 2014 Better Business Challenge Champion Award, went solar at their new location in the historic Silk Building in 2017, and in 2019 earned the Better Business Challenge Industry Leader award for their adoption of a styrofoam-alternative packaging for their bio tech supplies/materials that need refrigeration. Continuously looking to improve, this round they worked with Energreen Consulting to address some challenging HVAC issues.
We look forward to four more months of implementation before we award the top performers in June!