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Carbon Footprint

PPA has been working the last few years on reducing our organization's carbon footprint.

An online analysis by TerraPass, a leading carbon offset calculator, indicates that we generate approximately 79 tons of CO2 per year from our buildings and our car travel from commuting and work-related events (this does not calculate our emissions generated from activities like printing, food, etc.)

Some steps PPA has taken to reduce our carbon footprint include:

Energy Audit: PPA had a basic energy audit performed in 2008 by a member of the US Green Building Council-NJ Chapter. The results provide a general plan for upgrades to our facility that we hope to incrementally achieve in the future. Insulation of ductwork and doors has already begun, as has an analysis of office equipment using a Kill A Watt meter, resulting in more conscious efforts to turn off and "sleep" our office equipment. Any future office equipment purchases will be energy-star rated.

Paper: PPA uses 100% post-consumer recycled paper for the bulk of our printing, including this newsletter, our letterhead, and other regular publications. Brochures and other non-standard print jobs generally use 30% post-consumer recycled content. Staff print double-sided copies, and reuse scrap paper and old envelopes where possible.

Lighting: PPA has used compact fluorescent bulbs in the majority of our lighting fixtures since we moved into our new building in 2004. Lighting upgrades since then have included energy efficient T-12 bulbs in our carriage house.

Heating & Cooling: increased efficiency by insulating most of our baseboard heating pipes, hot water pipes, and air conditioning ducts. We also removed an ineffcient water cooler, and now use filtered tap water instead.

Recycling: all office paper, newspaper and cardboard, as well as metal and plastic cans and bottles, are recycled through curbside progra sponsored by Burlington County Office of Solid Waste & Recycling.

On-demand hot water: Our conference center has on on-demand hot water heater, which greatly reduces the energy used to heat the water for dishwasher and kitchen use.

Purchase of Clean Power: PPA purchases renewable energy credits ("green tags") for 100% of our main office's electricity usage. The product mix, purchased from Community Energy, includes 50% wind, 1% NJ Solar, and 49% low-impact hydroelectric. PPA has been enrolled in this program since February 2006.

On-site renewables: PPA has obtained quotes for both solar and geo-thermal systems in the last 2 years. Current economic conditions have precluded us from moving forward with either, but the goal remains to install renewable production in the future.

Challenges for 2010:

Eliminate bottled water from events

Drive less/carpool more

Switch to 100% recycled for envelopes

In the future, PPA will periodically reexamine our efforts to reduce our carbon emissions and inform our members of our efforts.

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When you pledge, you are making a commitment to save energy and money, and fight climate change by taking energy-saving actions in your home, such as changing a light to an ENERGY STAR qualified model, enabling your computer to power down when not in use, installing and using a programmable thermostat correctly with pre-programmed settings, choosing products that have earned the ENERGY STAR, and more.