“Utilizing alternative energy at our resorts is not only a priority, it’s a necessity,” says John Maloney, President and CEO of Bluegreen Corporation. “We have integrated many changes across our entire collection of properties.”
Bluegreen chose to employ the services of Carolina Cool, Inc., a Surfside, South Carolina, based company specializing in solar energy systems, in their efforts to complete this massive project. Ten solar panels were installed at the Carolina Grande resort building with the purpose of supplementing gas heating of the resort’s domestic water, laundry facilities, pool and hot tub. In 2009 alone, this popular Myrtle Beach resort, located just steps from the beach, lowered their gas bill by approximately $13,000 for the year. In addition to yearly savings, the effects of such conservational efforts have been far reaching.
“It's great to see our local resorts investing in long-term energy solutions with renewable energy sources,” said Verlon Wulf, owner of Carolina Cool, Inc. “This illustrates Bluegreen's commitment to
the betterment of our tourism community.”
In 2009, the Bluegreen corporate office in Boca Raton, Florida recycled more than 225 tons of paper. According to the Cintas Document Management, which awarded Bluegreen with their 2010 Environmental Award, each ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, 7,000 gallons of water and three cubic yards of landfill space. By those calculations, in 2009, Bluegreen was credited for saving 3,825 trees, 85,500 gallons of oil, over 1.5 million gallons of water and 645 cubic yards of landfill space.
“Seeing the impact of environmental conservation firsthand inspires the company as a whole to continue its efforts in preserving the environments in which we have resorts,” says Maloney. “The Carolina Grande resort in Myrtle Beach is the very definition of what we hope to accomplish in the future at Bluegreen properties across the United States.”
# # #
ABOUT BLUEGREEN CORPORATION
Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Boca Raton, FL, Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE:BXG) is the leader in providing Colorful Places to Live and Play through its vacation ownership resort and residential real estate business segments. Since 1996, Bluegreen has managed, marketed and sold a flexible, real estate-based vacation ownership plan with more than 160,000 owners, over 54 owned or managed resorts, and access to more than 4,000 resorts worldwide. Since 1985, Bluegreen Communities has developed master-planned residential and golf communities primarily in the southern and southeastern U.S., and has sold over 55,000 homesites. We also offer a portfolio of comprehensive, turnkey, fee-for-service resort management, financial services, customer generation and sales solutions to third-party developers and lenders. For more information, visit www.bluegreencorp.com or our travel portal www.colorfulplaces.com.
