Crotched Mountain Foundation and Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield, NH has won a 2009 "Lean and Green" award from Business NH Magazine, presented to NH businesses that are "leaders in being both eco-friendly and business-savvy," according to the magazine. The story is featured in the September issue of the magazine. Crotched Mountain will receive its award at a reception on Sept. 14, which NH Governor John Lynch plans to attend.
Crotched Mountain won the large company award (more than 125 employees) in the Green Practices category for demonstrating sustainable processes resulting in increased efficiency and savings.
"We're very proud of this award, and proud of our staff, students and patients for pitching in so wholeheartedly to conserve our resources and help protect the environment for future generations," said Don Shumway, President and CEO of Crotched Mountain Foundation. "We are also extremely grateful to the directors and trustees of Crotched Mountain for supporting this vision of a sustainable future.
Among the innovations instituted at Crotched Mountain in recent years are a state-of-the-art biomass heating system that burns wood chips from New Hampshire forests to provide heat and hot water to the entire campus. "We've also placed over 80 percent of our land under a conservation easement that guarantees it will never be developed and also protect important local watersheds," said Shumway.
Crotched Mountain has a campus-wide student-centered recycling program that each year recycles 150 tons of fiber and scrap metal, 240 cubic yards of mixed containers, and multiple hazardous wastes and electronics. It has replaced incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs across the campus, and installed motion detectors in many rooms to automatically turn lights off when no one is present. "We've even replaced artificial lighting in parking lots with lower watt bulbs that are directed downward to improve visibility and reduce light pollution into the neighboring communities," said Redmond.
Crotched Mountain has instituted an "environmentally preferred" purchasing system that includes examining the product life, recycled content, recyclable capacity, toxicity and total cost of each product used. The foundation has also restored a 70-acre dairy farm in Peterborough as a certified organic farm producing milk, cheese, eggs, chickens, turkeys and beef.
"Some people are surprised when they learn of the efforts we have undertaken over the past few years to bring about sustainable, green practices to the Rehabilitation Center," said Shumway. "But we see this as vitally important and directly connected to our work."
For more information contact Michael Redmond, 603-547-3311 x1479
About Crotched Mountain
Crotched Mountain is a charitable organization whose mission is to serve individuals with disabilities and their families, embracing personal choice and development, and building communities of mutual support. Crotched Mountain provides specialized education, rehabilitation, community, and residential support services for more than 2,000 consumers, including individuals with disabilities and the elderly, living in New England and New York. For more information about Crotched Mountain, please visit www.crotchedmountain.org.
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