Doral bank unveils $1M energy conservation initiative
April 7, 2011
Doral Bank's parent filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
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| Doral’s Roosevelt Ave. headquarters. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual) |
Doral Bank is looking to reduce its energy footprint and contribute to better local environmental conditions with a $1 million overhaul of its Roosevelt Ave. headquarters lighting systems.
Bank officials made the announcement accompanied by representatives from the Puerto Rico Energy Affairs Administration, which announced it had selected Doral as the first local bank to receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to complete the project. The bank will receive $300,000 in ARRA funds and will put up the remaining $700,000.
The project, which is set to begin during the second quarter of this year and will take six months to complete, includes changing about 4,000 bulbs at the building and multi-story parking facility.
Ultimately, Doral will save about $330,000 annually by reducing close to 1.5 million kilowatt hours from its energy consumption, EAA officials said. That is the equivalent of the energy consumed by close to 300 homes in a year.
“Today, Doral becomes the first bank in Puerto Rico that is part of this energy conservation effort, which has as its mission to reduce our dependency on petroleum, be an ally of our environment, be more efficient in the use of energy and stimulate greater economic development,” EAA Executive Director Luis Bernal said.
This is the latest environmentally friendly effort that Doral has launched over the past three years throughout its operation, bank officials said.
“At Doral, we’ve reduced energy consumption by 15 percent and we’ve reduced waste by 50 percent through paper recycling programs, the use of e-statements and the elimination of fax machines,” said Annelise Figueroa, vice president of real estate at Doral Bank. “Electronic equipment that is no longer used is recycled or donated to nonprofit organizations. And, we’ve installed water filters that reduce the use of water bottles.”
Other pro-environmental efforts Doral has sponsored include a reforestation program in conjunction with the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, Telemundo and Primera Hora. So far, 16 parks located in low-income communities have been spruced up.
Aside from disclosing its initiative, Doral announced the start of an educational campaign later this month with the EAA to create awareness of the importance of energy conservation.
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Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
