When RSC Equipment Rental decided to implement a sustainability plan for its 460 national rental stores, the company wasn't thinking about the money such a plan would save it. Rather, RSC executives were setting out to “do the right thing,” by changing some of the ways it operated and setting into motion some practices that would not only be better for the environment, but would also improve the way its employees felt about the company. RER heard this sentiment again and again as it interviewed sources for this article — what often started out as just doing what was right as responsible corporate stewardship turned out to have the added benefit of saving rental companies money in utility and operating costs.

In the case of RSC Equipment, not only is the company reaping the cost savings of its green efforts, but it is using its knowledge of sustainability best practices to save its rental customers money as well.

“With our sustainable business initiative, we are making great strides to reduce our carbon footprint and lower our environmental burden,” said Heather Schlichting, corporate communications specialist and member of the internal environmental taskforce for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based RSC Equipment Rental. “We believe that our knowledgeable staff can help customers with jobsite challenges regarding environmental compliance, permits, runoff, waste disposal and other related issues. These new efficiencies help the customer save time and money by doing business with RSC.”

Rolled out this month in conjunction with Earth Day, April 22, RSC has implemented multiple green initiatives such as installing low-emittance, high-solar-gain e-glass; insta-hot water heaters; T-5 high-efficiency fluorescent lighting; occupancy sensors on lighting; cool roof technology, which reflects more of the sun's infrared energy and combats the urban heat island effect to reduce air conditioning expense by 25 to 50 percent annually; and upgraded insulation in its newly opened locations. In addition, the company has retrofitted existing locations with T-5 lighting, HVAC upgrades and has used local yard rock instead of shipping it in from a great distance and using unnecessary fuel.

That's not all. At some branches the company has installed low-flow toilets and faucets, Energy Star-qualified CFL light bulbs, and updated its dispatch systems to reduce unnecessary delivery trips, which significantly saves on fuel consumption and the related cost. The company also has comprehensive recycling efforts in place at all its locations.

It's not only possible to improve the sustainability of new buildings beginning at the design stage, but existing buildings can also implement dozens of cost- and environment-saving improvements. In 2008, RSC Equipment Rental's Garland, Texas, branch implemented a green plan to help reduce energy use and save money. Using many of the company's previously mentioned initiatives, employees at the Garland location retrofitted the building and developed a process that increased recycling efforts, reduced energy expenditures and reduced waste. The plan, which even included planting trees on the property to offset the branch's carbon footprint, consisted of action items contributed by employees at all levels. The result was a savings of $11,000 over a 12-month period.

“It was crucial for the employees to be part of the process and encourage them to find answers to issues in order to fully engage them,” Schlichting says. “They were amazed by their results and take great pride in their accomplishments.

“RSC has worked hard to earn a reputation as a leader in the rental industry — in terms of innovation as well as efficiency and performance,” Schlichting adds. “Our environmentally friendly practices reflect all of these aspects and RSC is making a concerted effort to be more ‘green,’ and to help our customers do the same.”

While getting started may seem a daunting task, there are various steps any-sized rental company can take to set their own sustainability plan in motion. A series of small, relatively inexpensive initiatives implemented over the course of a set time period can yield significant energy savings along with the associated cost savings.

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