EL SEGUNDO, Calif.-Xceed Financial Credit Union recalls a time when saving energy and conserving resources was a concern limited to a handful of activists, hippies and cheapskates. Today, being green is a "business imperative."
The $738-million CU is showing its commitment to the environment with the creation of "Eco-Friendly Fridays" in January 2011. As a bonus, Xceed has realized savings on its power bill, and earned a Credit Union Journal Best Practices Award in the process.
According to President/CEO Teresa Freeborn, Eco-Friendly Fridays began with a one-day-per-week commitment. XFCU asked its employees to reduce energy consumption in a number of ways: turning off monitors when not in use, turning off office and bathroom lights when leaving the room, dimming hallway lights when feasible, and decreasing or increasing thermostat temperatures by a degree or two, depending on the season.
Every Friday morning, a banner was posted on the Xceed intranet. The banner was designed with an eye-catching "green" Xceed logo conceived in-house and reminded employees of ways to save energy and conserve resources, both at the office and at home.
Freeborn said these simple steps have cost the credit union nothing, but have yielded big returns. For the 10-month period January-October, Xceed has reduced its energy usage by 56,376 kilowatts, or nearly 15%. Because of concurrent energy price increases and peak pricing policies, however, dollar savings have been less-about 8% for that period.
"We are delighted to be recognized with a Credit Union Journal Best Practices Award for our Eco-Friendly Fridays," Freeborn said.
Xceed said as important as the energy and dollar savings have been, Eco-Friendly Fridays have provided the impetus for a more environmentally-conscious mindset among employees, most of whom are employing Eco-Friendly Friday practices at all times.
In addition, Xceed has expanded the concept beyond reducing energy use to encompass a much larger vision of resource conservation. During the year Xceed implemented a number of new policies, such as:
* Eliminating plastic water bottles, and instead providing employees with Xceed-logoed refillable stainless steel water bottles and equipping refrigerators with water purifiers.
* Eliminating disposable cups in favor of Xceed-logoed mugs for employees.
* Reducing paper usage by asking employees to print double-sided, and to reconsider the need to print documents.
* Replacing old copiers with new multi-function Xerox devices intended to increase use of scanning and reduce photocopying and faxing.
* Implementing a battery recycling effort (for employees and members alike) at all 15 of its Financial Centers.
