Car dealerships use a lot of energy. They take up lots of space, and the entire premises is always illuminated. During the day, all of those cars are driven around, auto maintenance takes place, as well as the regular energy and resources that go into running any business.
“There are probably a half a dozen reason that a car dealer might be interested in being more green,” says Chuck Golden, CEO of the new Okemos-based
Green Dealer Support, “and one of those is saving money.” Others include making a better work environment, connecting to environmentally savvy customers – and then there’s the big one.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” he says.
Golden has worked with auto dealerships for years, and what he and some of his colleagues in the industry recently noticed was that many auto dealerships have a desire to be more green and take advantage of new technologies, but have no idea where to begin.
“They’re too busy doing what they do,” says Golden. “Selling cars and taking care of their customers.”
So Golden and ten of his colleagues from around the country recently formed Green Dealer Support, a nationwide company to help advise, train, monitor and certify green dealers. The company got started in January and began assessing six dealers including
Crippen Dealership in Lansing. Crippen achieved “green dealer” certification recently and will continue to work toward gold, silver and platinum status.
More than 50 team members across the country help train and certify dealers.
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