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The GREENandSAVE editorial team received the Fall Newsletter from the U.S. manufacturer, Independence LED Lighting, which included references to supporting infrastructure and veterans. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to create programs that will improve and support infrastructure and veterans, so we wanted to research the levels of commitment at both the public sector level as well as at the private company level.
On the public sector front, Donald Trump has demonstrated some initial traction with U.S. manufacturing jobs, through his recent deal with Carrier to keep about 1,000 jobs in air-conditioning production from leaving to Mexico. On Thursday December 1, at his speech in Cincinnati, he also reinforced this message about “America First“ specifically referencing goals for infrastructure improvement including schools and hospitals. Overall, Donald Trump has been outspoken in his support for veterans, including in his campaign speech at the American Legion National Convention in Cincinnati.
On the private sector front, Philadelphia based Independence LED Lighting, has apparently walked the talk on made in America technology, infrastructure, and veteran support since moving their manufacturing from China to southeastern Pennsylvania in 2010. Charlie Szoradi, the CEO, said, “We are well positioned to help the new Trump Administration reach some of its key goals. Our products are made in America, and they improve infrastructure with better light and lower energy costs. On the veteran front, we have veterans from the Navy and the Army on our staff. Plus, we work with Veteran Owned Businesses (VOB) and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) for installation and distribution.” Mr. Szoradi went on to highlight some of their programs saying, “Our Veterans Affairs work started with the first VA hospital back in 2013, and our most recent program includes donations to the non-profit Independence Fund that supports service disabled veterans.”
Here is what we found online relative to Independence LED Lighting’s commitment to veterans:
December 5, 2016: New Year’s Resolution
Newsletter with examples of property improvement projects including Walter Reed, our National Military Medical Center, and the donation reference to support veterans. See the full newsletter here: http://independenceled.com/fall-2016-newsletter/
November 11, 2016: Veterans Day
Free for Veterans Program: http://independenceled.com/free-for-veterans/
March 15, 2016: Presidential Primary in Multiple States
LED Journal first published the story about a “winnable” War on Energy Waste. See the highlights here with the media exposure: http://independenceled.com/war-on-energy-waste/
Samples of prior support for veterans starting back in 2013 and 2014:
May 26 (Memorial Day), 2014
Program that Independence LED Lighting launched to support veterans and reduce operating costs for Veterans Administration facilities: http://independenceled.com/veterans-affairs-press-release/
Q1 2013: First Veterans Affairs Hospital with LED lights
The case study on the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center, in North Carolina: http://independenceled.com/durham-medical-center/
Overall: Saving energy with LED lighting certainly has environmental advantages, given that saving 50% of the energy reduces the CO2 emissions on producing the energy needed for less efficient illumination. The added benefit of support for veterans and reducing tax payer expenses at government facilities takes LED lighting retrofits to an even higher level. Government officials should look up at the ceiling in over 3 billion square feet of real estate used by the U.S. government. The economic impact is billions of annual dollars saved and tens of thousands of new jobs for Americans. The payback typically comes in less than three years on LEDs that last a decade or longer. This is a far better ROI than any other clean technology initiatives like solar, where the payback is often over 7 years. Reducing energy waste is more than twice as cost-effective as energy production.
The solutions to reduce this component of government waste are at hand. We’ll see if the Trump Administration looks up at the ceiling to “see the light!” and save taxpayer dollars while also helping veterans along the way.
