CHICAGO-RMK Management Corp., based here, is launching a few sustainability programs at its more than two dozen apartment communities to get ready for Earth Day on April 22. The effort will be carried out throughout the firm’s properties, with most located in the Chicago area, as well as complexes in Minneapolis and Indiana.
The initiatives include installing programmable thermostats and water-efficient plumbing, and giving away compact fluorescent lamp bulbs and recycling bags to residents. RMK has partnered with Nicor, People’s Gas, ComEd and Honeywell on the sustainability programs.
Dianna Pittro, EVP with the company, tells GlobeSt.com that the effort should save the firm about $250,000 per year over the 9,000-unit portfolio. “We base the savings on the projections from our partner companies,” she says.
Some properties are excluded from the installation program, such as buildings newer than 5 years old, or buildings older than 30 years old, she says. “The older buildings operate on boilers and chillers, so the thermostats wouldn’t work there,” Pittro says. “The newer buildings already have these instruments.” Properties owned by the firm include Prairie Point Apartments in Merrillville, IN.
The free giveaways of the CFLs and recycling bags are meant to encourage tenants to use the items consistently, she says. “We’ll be installing up to six CFLs per unit, we’ve already put these into the common areas,” Pittro says. “And the bags will be given out for a month after we start on Earth Day. Some people forget about the benefits of recycling, or don’t know how well the bulbs work, hopefully this will get them on the right track.”
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