[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 9, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S6501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING NATIONAL LIFE GROUP OF VERMONT

 Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I would like to recognize the 
National Life Group of Vermont for the impact this company is having in 
the field of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental 
stewardship in my State of Vermont. National Life, a Fortune 1000 
financial services and insurance firm based in Montpelier, is actively 
moving forward with a significant solar project at its headquarters.
  National Life announced in May that it will install 240 300-watt 
solar panels on the roof of its Montpelier headquarters. This will be 
one of the largest, if not the largest, solar electric installations in 
Vermont. The solar panels are expected to be installed and running by 
September, and they estimate that the system will generate 77,767 
kilowatt-hours a year. The 72 kW Photovoltaic, PV, system will generate 
enough electricity to power 13 average Vermont homes.
  The $500,000 project will be financed in part through a $200,000 
grant from the State of Vermont's Clean Energy Development Fund, which 
is administered by the Department of Public Service.
  National Life has contracted Solar Works of Montpelier to handle the 
installation. Solar Works is the leading solar electric systems 
provider in the Northeast.
  National Life is also working on a separate proposal to install a 
solar hot water system at the building. Both solar projects are part of 
a larger plan, begun 5 years ago, to transform the company's Montpelier 
headquarters into a ``green'' campus. An important plan objective will 
be realized at the end of 2008, when the company expects to win a 
coveted LEED certification. LEED--Leadership in Energy and 
Environmental Design--is the nationally accepted benchmark for the 
design, construction, and operation of high-performance green 
buildings. Impressively, experts say LEED certification for National 
Life's headquarters would be the first for a 50-year-old facility 
anywhere in the Nation.
  Tom MacLeay, the CEO of National Life, has driven this entire green 
initiative. A Vermont native who has worked at National Life for 32 
years, Tom recently announced that he would be retiring at the end of 
this year. It is certainly worth noting that the company's commitment 
to environmental leadership is a testimony to his vision of the ways in 
which business can help achieve a secure environmental future for this 
Nation.
  Solar is not the only area in which National Life has shown its 
environmental stewardship. Every 10 days National Life sends its 
shredded paper to Fairmont Farms, a dairy farm in East Montpelier, to 
be used as bedding for the cows and mixed into fertilizer for the 
fields. In 2007 they recycled 64 percent of their waste, including 
paper, plastic, shredded material, aluminum, metal, food composting, 
and computer equipment.
  In 2007 National Life transformed the offices of its Human Resources 
Department into a showcase for leading-edge green technology, using 
carpet with no volatile organic compounds, VOC, occupancy sensors, 
glass walls and automatic window blinds that allow light to pass 
through while keeping the heat out in the summer and the cold out in 
the winter. The new lighting technology put in place at its 
headquarters--with fixtures that are 95 percent efficient compared to 
the 50-percent efficiency of existing fixtures--will cut the company's 
electric bill in half.
  The company's Alternate Transportation Program offers incentives such 
as free bike tuneups, gas cards, free bus passes, and shoe discounts 
for those who carpool, bike, use bus service, or walk or run to and 
from work.
  These accomplishments are not just environmentally sound, they 
illustrate smart business decisions. By reducing its greenhouse gas 
emissions, Vermont Life is cutting its electric bills and saving 
serious money too. And by pushing the boundaries of what can be done, 
it is setting an example for other companies.
  What they are accomplishing with solar energy in Vermont, which is 
not a particularly sunny State, demonstrates what is possible to 
achieve right now if the will is there to carry it through.
  Mr. President, I look forward to the day when renewable energy and 
conservation have become so commonplace in our society that they are no 
longer looked upon as being unusual or path-breaking but are seen as 
totally ordinary, a normal part of the landscape. When that day comes, 
and I believe that it will, we will be able to look back to a handful 
of environmentally aware companies, such as National Life, that helped 
show us the way toward our sustainable energy society.

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