Webster Earns EPA Recognition for Energy and Water Conservation

Webster Bank, a leading regional bank serving businesses and consumers from Westchester County, N.Y. to Boston, Mass., announced today that it has received both national and regional recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star National Building Competition. More than 3,000 buildings across the country went head-to-head to see which one could reduce its energy use and water consumption the most over the course of one year. Two Webster banking centers in particular stood out in the competition: • The Brockton, Mass., banking center, 220 Oak Street, was the national leader in water conservation, reducing its water consumption by 80 percent. • The Darien, Conn., banking center, 1101 Boston Post Road, led all New England facilities by reducing energy use by 26.2%. “Webster is committed to doing what’s right for the environment and for the economy,” said Jerry Plush, president and COO of Webster Bank. “This competition is part of our ongoing Green Initiative that includes installing solar panels at our New Britain, Conn., facility; using fewer paper products like paper cups; and renovating our banking centers to meet Energy Star standards. Reducing our carbon footprint is a major priority for Webster as part of our environmental stewardship and responsibility to the community." Certificates from EPA will be issued to Webster in May. The 2012 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition measured energy performance over the entire 2012 calendar year. Competitors tracked their building's monthly energy consumption using EPA's online energy tracking tool, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The energy use reductions for each top finisher were verified by an independently licensed professional engineer or registered architect at the conclusion of the competition. Energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. Thousands of businesses and organizations work with EPA’s ENERGY STAR program and are saving billions of dollars and preventing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere each year. For more information on the 2012 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition, go to: www.energystar.gov/BattleOfTheBuildings.