Innovation

Arbor Financial Credit Union has integrated sustainability into their operations through three innovations. First, as they have constructed new branch offices, they have done so with the environment in mind. Three of their newly built offices were constructed with environmentally sound building techniques and materials. Examples of these are the use of high-efficiency windows, recycled metal for their roofs, and eco-friendly interior paint. They also use recycled carpeting and long life span flooring to insure reduced consumption. One of the branches went on to receive the Green Building of America Award. Arbor Financial has even gone as far as adopting sustainable cleaning techniques and products. The best part of all of the innovations at Arbor Financial was a reduction in their overall emissions.

A second innovation is that they encourage environmentally practices among their employees. One tactic is through the use of reusable water bottles that they issue to all their employees. Arbor is concerned that Americans used roughly 50 billion plastic water bottles last year and only recycled a fraction of those. Arbor hopes that by issuing reusable water bottles they will be able to reduce their waste and hopefully encourage their staff to integrate ecological initiatives in their personal lives.

The third innovation is how they have reduced their reliance on paper. Arbor has done this in different ways. First, Arbor encourages all members to enroll in e-statements. Arbor also encourages their members to participate in their Momentum checking account, which encourages the members to use debit cards instead of paper checks. Lastly, Arbor has introduced many dual-monitor computers to reduce the amount of paper employees use to print data that is subsequently entered online.

Inspiration

Tina Mason, the Marketing Director for Arbor, had a simple explanation for why Arbor takes on these initiatives, "It's simply a part of who we are." Arbor realizes that there are many motivations for sustainability including cost reductions and enhanced publicity. For Arbor, however, decisions about sustainability initiatives come down to who they are as a company.

One of the most important factors used to reinforce the inspiration is the organization's Caring Committee. This group of individuals not only motivates the entire organization but also spreads the word throughout the community that Arbor wants to help any local non-profit organization. Arbor's core values are Work together, Do the right thing and Have fun. They demonstrate all three of those core values by giving back with donations to different organizations throughout the community and also donating their time on the weekends to lend a hand where they can.

Overall impact

Arbor has cut down on its energy consumption through the use of its high-efficiency windows and their motion sensor lights. Along with this, Arbor has reduced the amount of waste that they produce with their use of reusable water bottles and their use of many electronic documents. When asked about the reusable water bottles Tina Mason, the Marketing Director at Arbor, spoke about how many plastic water bottles were used each year and the recycling rate for these plastics. She then went on to say "absolutely our reusable water bottles are intend to reduce the amount of plastic bottles used in our branches." They also have created a positive impact on the overall southwest Michigan community by using recycled materials to build their newer branches. This helps reduce the amount of wasted materials that are left in the community and make for a better overall environment.

Business benefit

Arbor has realized many cost benefits because of their initiatives surrounding more sustainable consumption. They reduce their paper costs with the use of their e-statements and their Momentum checking account. They limit the amount of paper they need to purchase and the cost of disposing of the wasted paper. Arbor's energy efficient buildings help reduce the cost of their energy use as well. Because these are new initiatives, data about cost savings is not yet available.

Along with these operating procedures, Arbor also donated to Fresh Food Fairy, who encourages good nutrition through education and by making fresh, local food fun. They also support the Kalamazoo Nature Center, whose mission is to inspire people to care for the environment and lastly towards Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy; who preserves wild and scenic places in southwest Michigan.

Social and environmental benefit

Arbor has created a community around these initiatives by including their members in many different events. One important event that members are included in is Arbor’s “Shred Days”, where members can bring in unwanted paper and electronic devices and have them properly recycled. Arbor has a Caring Committee whose members are employees of the credit union that designate projects and donations to give towards different organizations each month. This month they raised $750 and donated this to Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity. This committee doesn't only donate money towards different organization's but also gives back by donating their time to help in any way possible. This month many employees gathered together to help out Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity during the time off on Saturdays.

Interview

Tina Mason, Director of Marketing