New Energy Efficient Lighting Upgrades From Elephant Insurance EcoAd Funding

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore was presented with a check today from Kevin Chidwick, CEO of Elephant Insurance Services, and Paul Polizzotto, president and founder of CBS EcoMedia Inc., to provide financial support for the new, energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) lighting upgrade in the Giraffe House at the Zoo. Together with Don Hutchinson, president and CEO of the Zoo, and Jay Newman, president and general manager of WJZ-TV, they cut the green ribbon on the building to celebrate completion of the new lighting system project.
"The Giraffe House was opened in 1966, and has been in need of some renovations, including an updated and expanded lighting plan," said Don Hutchinson. "Through WJZ-TV and EcoMedia, we were able to not only improve the lighting throughout the Giraffe House, but also improve the energy efficiency of the building. As a conservation organization, these changes are a vital part of our commitment to the environment."Through the EcoMedia partnership with the Maryland Zoo, Elephant Insurance's EcoAd advertising provided the funding to support the installation of new energy-efficient LED lighting throughout the Giraffe House, which will result in energy savings for the city and the Zoo, and provide a more appealing experience for zoo visitors. 
"We are happy to partner with WJZ on their Eco Media Campaign to help make the Baltimore Zoo more ecofriendly," said Kevin Chidwick, CEO of Elephant Auto Insurance.  "How could we resist partnering with the zoo to make the world a greener place?  For Elephant Auto Insurance, it made perfect sense!  We are a paperless company, and in the corporate world being green isn't an easy undertaking.  We encourage our employees to be ecofriendly and wanted to take that enthusiasm outside the office."The retrofit also includes updated lighting for the keeper service areas, which gives the staff a better working environment. The lighting retrofit is part of the Zoo's Giraffe House renovation project which will reduce energy use, reduce energy costs and reduce the amount of CO2 emissions from the Zoo. The lighting retrofit will provide 140 hours of green job labor, while in its first year cutting energy use by 2191 KWh of electricity, saving taxpayers $2,102 in energy costs and reducing the Zoo's CO2 emissions by 17,064 pounds.
"This is a brighter day for the giraffes at the Maryland Zoo.Thanks to Elephant Insurance, the lighting in the Giraffe House is now energy-efficient.Not only is their habitat brighter, the lighting retrofit will save the Zoo money that will now be redirected into other much-needed programs and operations," said Paul Polizzotto, president and founder of EcoMedia. "Public-private partnerships like this one are what inspire us at EcoMedia.  We're excited to be partnering with Elephant Insurance and putting the funding from their EcoAd to work on such a meaningful retrofit."