On Earth Day, Norway Savings Environmental Initiative Helps the World See Green
Six-year effort confirms environmental and financial impact.
NORWAY, Maine – It is said that corporate America can do well by doing good. As Earth Day approaches, an Environmental Recycling Activity Report, recently provided to Norway Savings Bank by the bank’s recycling partner, confirms that a six-year paperless initiative and recycling effort is making a significant environmental and economic impact.
The report, issued by Secure RMS, recognized Norway Savings Bank as a socially responsible business that has collected and processed over 176,000 pounds (88 tons) of paper for recycling in the last six years. The report outlined the savings are equivalent to:
- 1,498 trees saved
- 616,630 gallons of water saved
- 361,169 kilowatts of energy saved
- 5,285 pounds of pollutants kept out of the atmosphere; and
- 440 cubic yards of landfill saved
The estimated financial value of the environmental savings is $454,593, according to Secure RMS.
“At Norway Savings, we talk a lot about seeking creative and colorful solutions to solve real issues,” said Norway Savings Bank President & CEO Pat Weigel. “For us, this means being intentional about our actions and taking steps to protect the environment we all cherish here in Maine. As a bank, we have also verified that these steps reduce our costs. There is more than one way to see green.”
Norway Savings Bank’s Environmental and Paperless Initiative includes better utilization of technology to reduce the automotive courier service for branch check pickups, increasing the use of electronic forms and electronic storage of records, as well as diligent recycling efforts throughout the bank. In addition, the bank has adopted the use of geothermal technology and other energy efficient HVAC systems in branch construction and renovation projects in order to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels. “We have also converted 35% of our account holders to more convenient and environmentally responsible e-statements. But we still have more work to do,” said Weigel.
Banks across the country and globally have been working to reduce their paper through the promotion of electronic banking. However, getting customers to agree to paperless banking has been a challenge for many banks. “We encourage and hope our customers will consider switching from their paper statements and going purely to e-statements,” said Steve Whitney, EVP Risk Management, IT & Deposit Operations. “Norway Savings Bank will do everything we can to make it a simple switch, including converting your statements to electronic versions,” Whitney continued.
About Secure Records Management Systems
Founded in 2010, SecureRMS is a social enterprise of Waban Projects, a nonprofit social services agency also in Sanford that provides services for children and adults with developmental disabilities. SecureRMS provides service to businesses and organizations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, with services including paper shredding, media destruction and hard disk destruction. SecureRMS prides itself on providing high quality and nationally certified services, at competitive prices, with the value added of creating jobs for people with disabilities, channeling all proceeds to support programs for children and adults with disabilities, and providing customers with environmentally sound ways to meet business needs.
About Norway Savings Bank
Founded in 1866, Norway Savings Bank is a leading mutual banking and financial services company headquartered in Norway, Maine. As of December 31, 2015, Norway Savings Bank had $1.026 billion in total assets and provided financial services to over 43 thousand households throughout western and southern Maine. Norway Savings Bank has 24 branch locations and operates divisions in asset management, personal banking and business banking. In 2013, Norway Savings Bank was awarded the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence and was honored as one of the Best Banks to Work For by American Banker and Best Companies Group. Norway Savings bank has been recognized as one of the healthiest companies in America by the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) as a two-time Gold-Level Well Workplace award recipient and has been acknowledged as one of the strongest banks in the nation after receiving a 5-Star Superior rating for over 100 consecutive quarters from BauerFinancial, Inc., the nation’s leading independent bank and credit union rating and research firm. For more information, visit www.norwaysavingsbank.com.
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