Patriot Subaru: Small Green Team Leads to Big Green Culture

Think Green, Act Green, Sell Green and Convey Green—that’s the philosophy at Patriot Subaru, a retailer with locations in Saco, ME, and North Attleboro, MA. It’s a strategy that intertwines eco-friendly practices in every aspect of the business, from recycling to shutting down electrical equipment after hours to growing an organic vegetable garden on site. 

Green Beginnings

Adam Arens, Patriot Subaru’s owner, explains, “Our green culture came about through an analysis of our business expenses and how we could reduce them. At the same time, we looked at how we could become more eco-friendly.”

This strategic look at business practices came in 2008, during a downturn in the automotive industry. Patriot Subaru leaders determined that embracing sustainable practices not only helped the environment but also helped the bottom line. “What we found was that we could reduce expenses and improve margins, which allowed us to give more back to both customers as well as associates,” said Tom Talbott, Patriot’s marketing manager.

Green Success

Eight years after the decision to commit to sustainable practices, Patriot is a thriving retailer, and business continues to grow. It started with a small green team with members from each department and has spread into a company-wide effort.

Arens says ecological impact is considered in decisions throughout the dealership. “Over the years, we have functioned with an environmental knowledge in everything we do,” he said. “If I do this, how does it affect the environment? How can we reduce the impact?”
 

Maintaining Patriot’s green activities hasn’t impeded productivity. When asked how employees balance business responsibilities and green tasks, Brian Beattie, Patriot general manager, said associates don’t view the eco-friendly processes as “extra work.” He said, “It made sense to everyone to do things the right way.”
 

Left: Exterior LED lighting in view behind sunflowers grown in Patriot’s on-site garden. Center: Loaner bikes available to customers waiting on vehicle service. Right: Plants replace showroom balloon displays. 
 

Arens stresses that eco-friendly business practices have benefits beyond saving money. For example, eco-friendly fertilizer makes the grass safe for kids and pets. The switch to LED outdoor lighting resulted in an 80 percent reduction in power usage and less upkeep.

“When we put in LED lighting we also found that there is zero maintenance on those lights, so you don't need two electricians and a cherry picker to come to the store every time a bulb or valence goes out,” he explained.

Another benefit is the spread of Patriot’s green culture beyond the walls of the building. “The behavior goes home with the associates to their family, and they come back with ideas for improvement,” Arens said.

Eco-friendly commitment throughout the company has led to recent national recognition. In October, Patriot Subaru was honored by Automotive News as one of the Best Dealerships to Work For 2016 and received Cox Automotive’s Leader in Sustainability award. As part of the Leader in Sustainability award, Patriot received $20,000 to fund two green projects. No final decisions for the award money have been made at this time; Arens and his staff are busy considering options of how best to fund local sustainable projects.

Green Sharing

Patriot’s green strategies are not trade secrets. In fact, Arens is happy to share ideas with other retailers interested in ramping up eco-friendly efforts. Patriot’s website features an extensive list of its green activities, from exterior LED lighting to using 100% Energy Star appliances. Other tactics include:

• Service department loaner bikes
   
• Live hanging plants rather than balloon displays
   
• Motion-controlled light switches
   
• Use of organic cleaning materials
   

“The website lists about 80 items that we do on a daily/weekly basis. We put our list on the website for everyone to see and hopefully be put into action by other businesses. If they use 20 items they’re not currently doing, that’s still a win.  If they’re our competitors, it’s a win. It’s the right thing to do,” Talbott says.

Green Waste Streams

Among its green activities, Patriot Subaru is a zero landfill facility. The project took about 18 months to implement and is a process that continues to evolve through ongoing evaluation. It takes a combination of recycling, on-site composting, and returning things like packing materials to suppliers for reuse.

“It started with follow the trash, where we examined what was going into the dumpsters and what happened to other used items—parts, oil, fluids, batteries, electronics, etc.,” Arens explained. “We contacted our vendors and asked them if they would help. They embraced it. We went to the dump, we talked to our parts suppliers, we talked to people in the environmental space and looked for ideas.”
 

Patriot’s onsite organic vegetable garden.

Green Future

Next on the horizon for Patriot is rooftop rainwater collection. With 25,000 square feet of roof and 47 inches of annual rainfall, the system will collect a minimum of 5,000 gallons of water per month. That’s more than enough to meet the dealership’s outdoor irrigation needs for landscaping and gardening. Arens says the dealership is considering uses for the surplus water collected.

Look for updates from Patriot in the coming months as the dealership identifies community projects to support with the Leader in Sustainability award funds, and be sure to let us know about green projects at your dealership.