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By Jay Lund
A bold idea born of big dreams: that’s how many iconic American companies got their start. It may be the best description of the bill that ultimately established Yellowstone National Park and sparked a worldwide trend of designating parcels of land for public enjoyment. Yet keeping this natural treasure open and accessible to more than 3 million visitors annually presents a unique set of challenges that Yellowstone’s administrators are addressing today with the same innovative spirit that first established the park.
Functioning as a park has an undeniable environmental impact on the very lands those millions visit and enjoy. Yellowstone’s leaders appreciate the fact that they could fall victim to their own success, and in 2010 established a five-year plan to elevate Yellowstone as a world leader in environmental stewardship. In other words, lead by example by being one of the greenest parks in the world. The Yellowstone Environmental Stewardship, or “Y.E.S.” Initiative, is the kind of private/public collaboration you hope makes a meaningful impact – and as a representative of one of the industry brands privileged to participate, I can attest that what we’re working on together is making a difference.
With two years left in the program, how are we doing? Here are two examples:
Lamar Buffalo Ranch: This site was a prime opportunity for improvement, with sleeping cabins that sit in the Lamar valley inside the park; temperatures reach -40 degrees below zero most winters. New windows were donated, upgrades to insulation and the addition of programmable thermostats in the cabins resulted in a 50 percent reduction in energy use in the first 12 months.
Mammoth Clinic: The most recent priority project in the program, this 1960s era building at the park’s headquarters serves the medical needs of all park staff as well as all visitors to the park each year. Andersen donated windows for the building retrofit, which was completed this past January. Energy data was taken before the remodel, to compare during a 12-month energy consumption analysis. We expect the results to be a significant reduction in energy use by the clinic.
We’re not done yet. We just committed to providing one of our most efficient windows, the 100 Series, to be used in a new dormitory under construction near the site of Old Faithful. These windows are a great example of the unique approach to an environmentally-friendly solution favored in the Y.E.S. Initiative: the window profiles utilize reclaimed wood fiber from our manufacturing operations and have SCS Indoor Advantage Gold certification.
Jay Lund is chairman, president and CEO of Andersen Corporation.
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