Redwood Credit Union Receives ENERGY STAR Certification for its Santa Rosa Administrative Office
Redwood Credit Union (RCU) has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR certification for commercial buildings for its administrative office at 3033 Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa, California.
To be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, a building must earn an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher on EPA’s 1 – 100 scale. RCU’s Santa Rosa office achieved a score of 97—meaning the building meets strict energy performance standards and is outperforming 97 percent of similar buildings nationwide.
ENERGY STAR certified buildings save energy, money, and help protect the environment by generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings. Together, all 38,000 ENERGY STAR-certified buildings have prevented more than 21.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
“RCU has been working hard over the past few years to reduce our energy footprint,” said Kimberly Williams, senior vice president of strategy, projects, and corporate real estate. “Investing in green technology and helping our communities do the same is integral to what we do.”
RCU has been investing for years in green technology such as its 2,000+ solar panels powering 61% of the Santa Rosa office. Their sustainability programs include loan discounts on qualified energy-efficient and hybrid vehicles, solar loans, yearly community shred-a-thons to securely dispose of sensitive documents, companywide recycling, and an online green center at redwoodcu.org/green.
Educating on the use of green-friendly services is also a focus for the credit union. Members are encouraged to take advantage of paper-free online and mobile banking, online bill pay, and eStatements, reducing visits to the branches and emissions. To date, 85 percent of RCU’s membership uses those technologies.
About Redwood Credit Union
Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. RCU offers complete financial services including checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, online and mobile banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through CUSO Financial Services L.P., and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU’s wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $7 billion in assets and serves more than 390,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for news and updates.
