Verizon Store Earns Energy Star Rating

Verizon Wireless Communications (Basking Ridge, N.J.) has added another Energy-Star rated store to its growing green store portfolio. The wireless retailer’s Columbia, Md., store recently earned the rating, making it one of more than 47 Verizon Wireless retail stores to carry the EPA label.

“The changes we have implemented in our stores are significant because they impact our business, the environment and our ability to provide customers with an industry-leading experience,” says Mike Maiorana, regional president for Verizon Wireless in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. “By being more energy efficient, we can keep operating costs down and redirect those resources to improve the customer experience.”

Among the energy-efficient changes made at the store were replacing incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps and installing LED exit signs and motion sensors to activate lighting in portions of the store that are not in constant use, such as the storage room and back offices. In addition, the store's entire lighting and display systems are controlled by a digital timer system to ensure that lights turn off when the store is closed to avoid energy waste.

Additional energy-saving initiatives include insulating the water heater and piping and replacing the service bay doors with energy efficient glass to reduce the loss of heated or cooled air.

The EPA states that Energy Star-rated commercial buildings use an average of 40 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

In addition to the EPA certification, Verizon Wireless has been recognized for its environmentally friendly green practices, including being named to IDG Computerworld's first-ever list of top Green-IT Companies and receiving a Green Excellence of the Year Award in the Corporate Leadership category from research firm Frost & Sullivan.