Throughout the Kendal system, affiliates have been pursuing a variety of initiatives to reduce our negative impact on the environment. Some examples follow.

Barclay Friends

• Engaged Tetra Tech to complete a facilities assessment
• Digital controls for building management, heating/air conditioning
• Green on the grounds – use pesticides but not herbicides
• Horticultural therapy program
• Educating staff on potential energy saving around adjusting thermostats correctly, lighting, faucet inspection programs
• Challenge trash company to improve/enhance their recycling
• Shut down the hot water loop in the summer – $6-7,000 savings
• Evaluating the purchase of improved controls in MEP systems

Kendal at Hanover

• Organized a staff sustainability committee
• Energy Committee created – initiated light bulb replacement program - with compact fluorescent lights (CFL)
• Renovation/expansion – asked architect to keep LEED principles in mind; want to see net reduction in energy, sensitivity to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), cleaning chemicals, insulation and duct work
• Spent last year measuring energy use in buildings

• Committee helping residents get the correct CFLs for their situations

• Community insulation project half complete
• Will be selecting a firm to advise them on purchase of electricity and fuel – would like to be able to measure electricity use in each apartment; Health Resources Network, a VHA company, will help organizations obtain the cheapest fuel

Kendal~Crosslands Communities

Kendal at Longwood is seeking LEED certification for their new cottage project, to begin constrution in 2010. The community will add 48 new one and two story duplex cottages on the eastern edge of the campus, featuring broad vistas and mature landscaping. The cottages will include high efficiency systems, energy star appliances, recycled and local materials.

Other efforts underway:

• Offering "green bags" for sale in the bistros; the reusable cloth bags with the KCC logo open with a flat bottom wide enough to accommodate the reusable take-out containers
• Residents did a CFL light bulb exchange and moved to replace all light bulbs – 90% (3,000-3,500) replaced in 6 months – calculated saving about $50,000 per year, cost about $6,000 from operating budget, recycling all bulbs
• Ongoing discussions on deer management best practices
• Board created a sustainability fund for residents to make tax deductible donation for carbon footprint offset – money to be used for sustainability initiatives (www.carbonfund.org for example )
• Installed motion detectors for all health center corridors, leaving emergency lighting on, connected to fire alarm system so comes on in an emergency
• Energy Star appliances
• Resident/staff Recycling Committee – household hazardous waste, collect on day of drop off for county; recycle bottles, cans, paper, not separate
• Reusing bottled water bottles

•  Committee is in process of determining carbon footprint with goal of reducing to zero

• Preparing for plug-in cars – considering policy implications
• Considering a day of outdoor clothes drying – possibly schedule a certain day and time
• Educating residents to adjust ENTEL settings and off-peak electricity usage
• Some discussion about the benefits of metering each cottage

Lathrop Communities

Community's property committee is responsible for sustainability efforts and includes residents, staff and board. Residents have established The Lathrop Green Sheet, an occasional newsletter from the Lathrop Community’s Green Committee. In addition:

• Contracting with a company for recycling light bulbs, batteries, etc.
• Replaced 8 year old boilers, saved about 30%, started with a grant
• Energy Star certification for newest cottages
• Programmable thermostats
• Dryer duct cleaning program; dryers take less time to run
• Property committee putting together what has been done, what should be doing, and education for residents, use Gray is Green resource, tap into resident interest
• Working with landscaping practices and chemical use
• 2/3 of corridor lighting goes out at night
• Evaluating possible participation in energy consortium

Kendal at Ithaca

• Recycle box just for CFLs
• Iinclude CFLs in gift package for new residents
• Reduced acreage maintained; mow low-maintenance areas once per year
• Reduce amount of fertilizer (50-70%), eliminated phosphorus
• Use only 3M chemicals that are green for cleaning
• Use microfiber mop system, no water
• Thompkins County has an advanced recycling system, take household hazardous waste once per year; one location for recyclables such as radios, computers, etc., rather than every resident taking it individually
• Exploring a corridor light reduction program
• Using Energy Curtailment Specialists – get paid for reducing KW hours; install current transformers at main switch to see power usage
• New resident committee writing articles for the resident newsletter on sustainability topics with real life practices for residents
• Energy management audit underway
• Zero- turn mower saved 1000 gals of diesel per year
• Annual household hazardous waste campaign
• Work to get residents to change lifestyle patterns:
• Personal recycling
• Minimize use of non-eco friendly kitchen chemicals
• Work to identify projects that will engage residents such as subsidizing wind power

Kendal on Hudson

• Resident group looking into car share
• Sustainability included in strategic plan: composting, solar, wind power, to be explored
• Working with an Energy Curtailment Specialist
• Campus wide motion detector corridor lighting program, 4,000 kw per building per month saved
• Expanding Recycling program
• Resident Conservation committee active
• Continuing the light bulb exchange (150 bulbs changed to CFLs in 2 months) and lighting reduction project, motion sensors
• NYSERTA plan going for approval; energy audit to follow
• Villages of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown are sponsoring an Eco Fair – Kendal residents participating
• Also testing 4-day work week for some staff
• Suggested that we evaluate staff commute mileage using annual staff satisfaction survey
• Have gone to a bi-weekly lawn maintenance schedule

Kendal at Oberlin

Kendal at Oberlin is engaged in the second year of an Energy Performance Pilot Program. READ MORE.

• Exchange program for CFLs
• Retrofitting solatubes into resident units
• Zero VOC paint
• Energy Star appliances on turnovers and new units
• Move laundry to second shift to take advantage of off-peak energy use
• Moved and saved 30 trees during construction project
• Be sure that each newsletter includes sustainability issues
• Evening and night shift going to 12 hour shifts
• Second annual barn sale – helping residents recycle unwanted equipment and furniture
• Active shuttle system
• Planting grass around new cottages that requires less mowing

Kendal at Granville

• All green chemicals in housekeeping
• Recycling, including batteries and ink cartridges
• Work with local markets to purchase local produce from farms, working on developing relationships with farmers
• Discussing converting to CFLs
• Working to reduce Styrofoam container use in dining and plastic bag use throughout the community

Kendal at Lexington

The community has completed a $19.9 million expansion project and as part of the design process engaged a "green design" consultant to advise on green building practices. In addition, as part of site preparation, they implemented a stream restoration project that engaged many members of the local and wider community. (See photo above.)

• With the addition of 49 new cottages and apartments, implemented the following
  • Tankless water heaters
  • 2X6 walls
  • Cellulose insulation in attic
  • Dual flush toilets
  • Energy star appliances
  • High efficiency furnaces
  • Water source heat pumps in apartments
• Small committee working to educate residents on sustainability topics such as the impact on heating/cooling when windows are left open
• Maintenance and housekeeping staff on a trial 4 – 10 hour day workweek
• Receive and reuse some of Kendal on Hudson’s discarded Status Solution components

The Kendal Corporation office

• Reducing paper usage
• Implemented a lights-off practice when out of office
• Request hybrid vehicles when renting
• Reduce use of individual water and juice bottles

Kendal initiatives are included in the July/August 2008 issue of Future Age, the bimonthly journal of The American Association of Homes and Services for Aging. The article is titled "The Path to Environmental Stewardship".