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Ridgecrest goes green
Polly House, Baptist Press
April 22, 2010
2 MIN READ TIME

Ridgecrest goes green

Ridgecrest goes green
Polly House, Baptist Press
April 22, 2010

For people who have been to

LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center, it’s no stretch to think “green” with the

center’s abundance of beautiful trees, shrubs and grass.

BR photo by Dianna L. Cagle

One of the ways Ridgecrest is going green is by encouraging guests and staff members to recycle.

What may come as a surprise

is Ridgecrest’s commitment to being a good steward of its finances by reducing

energy consumption and finding eco-friendly alternatives to traditional ways of

doing things.

  • Among the environmentally

    friendly initiatives and practices that have been put in place are:

    All of the guest rooms use

    fluorescent lighting.

  • More than 80 percent of the

    conference and public spaces use fluorescent lighting.

  • Occupied space, outside

    ambient conditions and temperature determine the operational parameters.

  • The facility participates in

    a fluorescent bulb recycling program, keeping mercury out of local landfills.

  • Conference and public spaces

    are monitored throughout the day with an energy management system to optimize

    HVAC efficiency.

  • Fireplaces are equipped with

    timer controls.

  • Recycling bins are available

    throughout the campus to encourage recycling by guests.

  • A linen exchange program is

    in place to cut down on unnecessary washing of linens, saving hundreds of

    gallons of water each day.

  • Ongoing steps include

    recycling of wood pallets and paper.

    Metals and other recyclables

    are salvaged from demolition projects.

  • Vehicle fuel usage has been

    cut in half by downsizing to non-highway vehicles where possible and adding the

    use of electric vehicles.

  • A master plan for sidewalks

    and covered walkways is being followed to make the entire conference center

    pedestrian friendly, thus encouraging guests to walk instead of using their

    vehicles to move about campus.

“These steps make sense for

us, environmentally and economically,” said Byron Hill, director of LifeWay’s

conference centers.

“I am proud of our staff and engineers who are helping us

find new ways to protect our beautiful campus. I’m also grateful to our guests

who appreciate what we are doing and join us in recycling when they’re on our

grounds. When conservation is done well, everyone wins.”