Juniper Communities has spent the higher a part of 30 years pushing for higher sustainability practices with its Inexperienced Cover initiative. In 2025, there aren’t any plans to decelerate, as Inexperienced Cover has resulted in a number of advantages, together with in driving firm tradition and controlling prices.
The initiative began within the mid-Nineteen Nineties, in response to CEO Lynne Katzmann. She credit Juniper’s inside inside designer Richard Ottens with the genesis of this system. On the time, the Bloomfield, New Jersey-based firm was growing three communities, the primary of which was constructed to the town of Austin, Texas’ inexperienced constructing requirements.
“[Ottens] mentioned to me, ‘Lynne, we deal with folks, however we now have to deal with the setting,’” Katzmann informed Senior Housing Information.
Inside a 12 months or two, Management in Power and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements have been being developed, and Katzmann mentioned Juniper was fast to adapt these practices.
From there, the practices solely continued to develop and develop, a lot in order that Juniper was not too long ago awarded the inaugural Senior Housing Information Inexperienced Guardian Award, a part of the Prism Awards. The award acknowledges operators which have made important achievements in environmental sustainability.
Among the many different practices adopted throughout its 31 communities are efforts to cut back single-use plastic waste, aiming to be zero waste, paper discount by way of know-how utilization and rising power effectivity and water conservation efforts.
Ottens left Juniper in 2020, and management of Inexperienced Cover shifted to Chief Working Officer Donald Breneman, who sought to search out methods to cut back the quantity of single use supplies all through the Covid pandemic. Breneman is credited with main the trouble in decreasing paper merchandise throughout the corporate as nicely.
Trying forward, Breneman informed Senior Housing Information one among his targets is to have the primary zero waste senior dwelling neighborhood within the nation.
“At Juniper, it’s a part of our tradition. It’s simply a part of what we do,” Katzmann informed Senior Housing Information. “What I really like about Inexperienced Cover essentially the most is that the key efforts we’ve made have all come from staff members who’ve mentioned that is essential … and so they’ve championed it.”
Tradition of sustainability
Whereas Katzmann famous Juniper may do higher in advertising and promoting its Inexperienced Cover efforts, sustainability is a part of the corporate’s signature packages and is taken into account one among its values, that are on show in its communities.
She added whereas the problem of sustainability might not be crucial to some residents, it’s for his or her kids.
Juniper’s first neighborhood constructed to LEED certification requirements was accomplished in 2001, and the corporate has continued to develop the initiative in quite a lot of methods with a view to reside as much as its ethos of “doing nicely by doing good” the corporate’s Prism Awards submission notes.
Among the many most vital strides made lately is a robust incorporation of know-how with a view to cut back paper waste. As a substitute of printing calendars and handouts, residents are educated on the usage of digital signage, neighborhood portals, apps and voice activated entry to info.
Juniper has a aim of being fully waste free by 2025, the submission paperwork acknowledged. Katzmann mentioned whereas that aim hasn’t been achieved simply but, it’s nonetheless early within the 12 months, and paper use has dramatically decreased over the previous 5 years.
Certainly, Juniper has diminished round 80% of its whole waste companywide, Breneman mentioned. Moreover, the corporate has began a composting program at a number of of its communities, which he mentioned has been an awesome collaboration between the eating and actions groups, as compostable materials is then utilized by quite a lot of golf equipment and actions.
Breneman added he’s wanting into federal packages with a view to higher measure the quantity of waste being diminished companywide.
Moreover adapting know-how throughout its buildings, Juniper centered on decreasing plastic waste by way of reusable chrome steel utensils for treatment allotting. Relatively than utilizing plastic for eating providers, it has adopted cardboard and paper options the place potential.
The general success of the rollout comes from the involvement of staff members, who Breneman mentioned have been capable of determine issues, comparable to texture sensitivities, and give you options that might be adopted.
“It was issues I wasn’t even considering of, as a result of I don’t try this job like they do,” Breneman mentioned. “They know the ins and outs and the place it would fail. And as a substitute of failing and never doing it, they got here to me with an answer.”
Alongside the environmental advantages, Katzmann added the corporate has seen “large financial savings” from switching to extra sustainable practices.
Whereas the transition has been sluggish through the years, Katzmann mentioned it has been value it.
“Is it a easy transition? No. Folks love their paper, they love getting one thing beneath their door, however they perceive that it’s wasteful, and so they perceive that it prices cash, and so they’re all the time taken with saving cash,” she mentioned.
Trying to the longer term, she added the Inexperienced Cover Initiative will proceed to be pushed by neighborhood workers and staff members.
“Inexperienced Cover is completed on the initiative of our staff members,” she mentioned. “One of many lovely issues about Juniper is the folks that work listed here are very mission pushed and values pushed … Inexperienced Cover is a wonderful instance of that.”
Constructing and buying practices
Juniper is among the many many operators centered on rising by way of acquisitions whereas additionally embarking on capital initiatives. When wanting into buying a brand new neighborhood, the corporate takes an method meant to give attention to “climate-risk discount elements for potential websites together with geo-thermal, photo voltaic or sustainable building practices/options,” in response to the awards submission doc.
One of many main elements the corporate focuses on is the prevalence of flood plains.
“A variety of it has to do with our perceived danger of the setting,” Katzmann mentioned. “We take a look at wind publicity, we take a look at fireplace publicity … we additionally search for [asbestos and lead paint] in older buildings.”
Upon the profitable acquisition of a neighborhood, Juniper replaces outdated fixtures with extra power environment friendly and trendy parts, comparable to low unstable natural compound carpeting to be unhazardous.
The apply holds enchantment for funding companions as nicely, the submission doc notes, by “maximizing worth and total environmental affect in collaboration for future sustainable enhancements.”
Katzmann mentioned this method to environmental sensitivity hasn’t slowed Juniper’s development up thus far, and the corporate is all the time in search of alternatives that match inside its environmental standards.
Constructing practices are doubtless going to be among the many methods the Inexperienced Cover Initiative continues to develop and develop all through the rest of the 12 months, with HVAC techniques needing to get replaced in older communities and persevering with to search out extra power environment friendly makes use of of electrical energy.
Juniper can be taking one other look into renewable power sources for its communities, and Breneman famous acquisition websites are being recognized for his or her potentialities to exchange current techniques with extra sustainable power options, comparable to photo voltaic networks or geothermal functions.
“The utilization of power, and notably for digitization and know-how for information and analytics, is rising dramatically, and we have to take a look at that as a society,” Katzmann mentioned.
