River's End Distribution Center Awarded CMC Green Certification

River's End Trading Company, headquartered in Medina, Minn., announced that the company's Clarksville, Tenn. decoration and distribution center was awarded the Clarksville-Montgomery County (CMC) Green Certification.

The CMC Green Certification Program is designed to help businesses learn and implement best practices in the area of environmental stewardship in an effort to sustain the community's resources through a series of free workshops taught by environmental and other subject area specialists. Participation in this program offers the community and local businesses the opportunity to help preserve Clarksville-Montgomery County's natural beauty and resources; extending the life of local landfills, improving the air quality and water management and many other environmental initiatives.

In addition to participating in the workshops to gain CMC Green Certification, River's End South created an environmental management plan, sharing data in the areas of recycling, energy efficiency, reuse and repurposing, pollution reduction and stakeholder communication over a six-month period.

One item on the River's End South Green Plan includes energy conservation practices implemented in December, 2011. "This initiative has not only helped us to have a greater appreciation for our community and environment but has helped to improve our bottom line as a business," said John Hooper, general manager at River's End South.

In a comparison of year-over-year energy usage, the Clarksville facility consumed 313 fewer kilowatt hours (KWH) per day in Jan 2012 versus Jan 2011. Despite an annual rate increase of 3.7 percent, the conservation efforts produced a substantial savings to the company for the month of January. River's End South has also installed programmable thermostats to reduce the costs of heating and cooling the building.

The green plan also includes new recycling bins for all poly-bags, both carton liners and the individual garment bags. These bags make up nearly 50 percent of the total waste generated and recycling will prove to provide another significant monthly savings.

River's End South was recognized at the Inaugural Green Certification Banquet on Tuesday, May 22 at the WaterStreet Events Center in Clarksville, Tenn. for its outstanding efforts. Michelle Newell, CMC Green Certification Program Manager commented, "The commitment by River's End to this community endeavor and their leadership in this area is highly commendable. It has been a distinct pleasure to work with everyone and I am extremely proud of the work they have done. Their work serves as an excellent model for other businesses in our community."