(Photo Above, L-R)City Council members John Burnard and Jim Perry, Plant Manager Larry Strand and Mayor Rusty Bailey

City of Riverside worked with local company to save water and energy, furthering sustainability goals

[ecko_quote source=”Rusty Bailey, Mayor of Riverside CA”]We want to thank UTC for taking the initiative to pursue greener practices in their facilities and operations.[/ecko_quote]

RIVERSIDE, Cal – Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) and City of Riverside officials were on site recently at the UTC Aerospace Systems facilities, located in the 8200 block of Arlington Avenue, to present the company with the city’s first Green Business Award.

Working in conjunction with the state’s Green Business Program, RPU assisted changes to UTC’s Riverside facilities that help them save energy and water.

“We want to thank UTC for taking the initiative to pursue greener practices in their facilities and operations,” Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey said. “And we hope that additional businesses within the city will follow their lead to help make Riverside a greener and more sustainable community.”

The Riverside facility, which employs about 1,100 people, is part of the aerostructures business unit of the Farmington, Connecticut-based parent company United Technologies Corp., and produces composite bond components for some of the world’s newest airplane platforms, including the Airbus A350, and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

In addition to softening the water used in six cooling towers on site, which helps to decrease mineral build up and reduces the frequency in which the towers need flushing and refilling (a process that should save about four million gallons of water annually), UTC also installed a system for recycling rinse water used in chemical process lines that is saving 1.2 million gallons per month.

The facilities’ older high use toilets were replaced with high efficiency ones, and low-energy use LED lighting was installed where possible throughout the building.

“Sustainability has been such an important thing in Riverside for so long, it’s practically part of our DNA now,” said Mayor Pro Tem Mike Soubirous. “It’s great to see a local business also leading the way on going green.”

Certified businesses become part of a growing network of more than 2,800 companies that make up the California Green Business Network who are committed to pursuing greener practices.

For additional information on UTC Aerospace Systems, visit www.utc.com.