Niles, Ill. – In August of 2009, Specialty Print Communications (SPC) lead the way as one of Chicago's most environmentally conscious printers, replacing all of the lighting in their 105,000 square foot facility at 6019 W. Howard Street with new, lower emission, longer life bulbs and fixtures. At the time of installation, the system was estimated to reduce projected annual energy consumption by approximately half, while enhancing lighting performance and providing cost savings. Now the figures are in and the benefits are myriad.

BlueStar Energy Services recently presented SPC with its Energy Savings Projections for the energy conservation project according to ASHRAE and the numbers are compelling. The energy and pollution reductions per the Environmental Protection Agency were 733,323kWh reduction on an annual basis, or 511 tonnes of CO2 reduction in greenhouse gas. The conservation equivalents are the same as taking 92 cars off the road for one year, or 13,097 trees absorbing pollution for 10 years.

"In addition to improving the environment, our lighting costs have also been reduced significantly," said EVP Marketing, Dustin LeFebvre.   "The decision to replace the lighting made sound business sense and has the added benefit of making good environmental sense as well."

Other green initiatives for SPC include participation in the "Recycle Please" program initiated by the Direct Marketing Association, indicating that printed materials should be recycled by recipients. In-house SPC has encouraged the distribution of information electronically, as well as encouraging employee car pooling and cycling by installing bike racks and designated car pool parking spots. Last year SPC became officially "Greenified" by the Green Business Alliance, a national firm helping companies identify more environmentally responsible business practices.