Success Stories

Showers

Business: City of Milwaukie (Milwaukie)

Number of Employees: 148

Vignette

The City of Milwaukie has four buildings: City Hall, Ledding Library, Public Security (fire and police), and the Johnson Creek Building (offices and shops).

• Reduced hot water temperature at all faucets to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $104/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 230 therms/year.
• Installed water conserving valves on all urinals in men’s restrooms. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $97/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 25,000 gallons/year.
• Purchased a unit to recondition rechargeable batteries. After multiple rechargings, most batteries lose their ability to hold a charge. Reconditioning restores the batteries so that they can be recharged and reused again. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $274/year (net). RESOURCE SAVINGS: 55 pounds/year.
• Reduced paper use across all City offices by 6% through employee education about double-sided copying and efficient printing and formatting practices. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $351/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 585 pounds of paper/year.
• Encourages reuse of filing folders, hanging files, and other office supplies.
• Installed a crank timer for lights in a storage loft. This turns the lights off after 10 to 30 minutes. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $321/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 7,400 kWh/year, plus light bulbs.
• Installed a crank timer for lights in the parking garage. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $522/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 11,000 kWh/year, plus light bulbs.
• Reduced outside night-time lighting levels by 50% to 75% at the Johnson Creek Building offices and shops. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $3,211/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 50,900 kWh/year, plus light bulbs.
• Fixed a shower drip in a locker room. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $28/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 16 therms (gas) and 4,900 gallons (water)/year.
• Fixed a leak at the truck/car wash. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $113/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 29,200 gallons/year.
• Incorporated recycled content building materials into several remodeling projects.

Case Study

• Report available on use of recycled building materials in remodeling projects. Call Metro, 503-234-3000.

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Business: Doubletree Hotels [formerly Red Lion Hotels] (Portland)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• By filtering and recycling water, the central laundry facility saves $35,900 annually in water costs and $16,000 annually in natural gas costs. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $51,900/year.
• Other comprehensive energy and water conservation measures include energy management control systems for heating, cooling, and lighting; chillers connected for more efficient operation; converting incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescents; exit sign retrofits; more efficient ballasts in fluorescent fixtures; adjustable speed drives on fan motors; automatic fan controls for individual guest rooms; low-flow showerheads and faucets; and toilet tank adapters to reduce the amount of water used per flush. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $200,000/year.

Case Study

• Call the City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development, 503-823-7222.

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Business: Sandtrap Inn (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 4

Vignette

• Staff used to automatically mail confirmation notices to guests when they booked a reservation. Now, guests are asked if they want a confirmation notice. Approximately half of the guests ask not to be mailed a notice. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $426/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 14 pounds of paper/year.
• Redesigned promotional brochure to be a "self-mailer" (without an envelope). FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $15/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 5 pounds of paper/year.
• Reduced the number of exterior ornamental lights by 1/3. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $66/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,300 kWh/year.
• Eliminated an extra, unnecessary rinse cycle in washing machines. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $20/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 5,200 gallons/year.
• In a few condos, refrigerators and hot water are turned off during the slowest month of the year and these condos are not rented out. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $23/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 420 kWh/year.
• Installed low flow showerheads to reduce energy and water use. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $119/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,400 kWh/year and 10,200 gallons of water/year.
• Eliminated "sanitized for your protection" paper toilet strips. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $23/year.

Case Study

None

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