Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. is on our list this week because they’ve done something that many other businesses should be doing by removing over 300,000 square feet of turf to conserve water. Most folks are well-aware that California is currently experiencing a massive drought. Due to this obvious and unfortunate truth, water restrictions and incentives to remove grass/turf have been made and heavily advertised throughout the mid-sized City of Brea where the Suzuki Motor of American’s corporate offices are located.
Commercial, municipal and industrial use make up a whopping 62 percent of the total water usage for the city of Brea. In the month of June, Suzuki removed the turf as a part of the Municipal Water District of Orange County turf removal rebate program. As of writing this article, Suzuki is the largest company to use this program thus far, which has reduced their typical usage from 1,000,000 gallons a month to 300,000. But, Suzuki doesn’t plan on stopping there. They’ve continued plans to change shade structures and add drought tolerant plants to their property as well. Thus far, they’ve removed 2.85 million pounds of grass using over seventy 18-wheeler trucks. Mark Eastman, VP of operations explains the reasons for the undertaking, explaining “We wanted to save water and save cost, while at the same time keeping our facility looking nice and welcoming.”
A worthy endeavour, the Suzuki facility is already conserving 700,000 gallons of water a month. More importantly, Suzuki is setting the trend for the surrounding business. Tai Taitano, Administrative Services Manager confirmed that the changes have effected work moral, positively. “Our employees are proud of company they work for, and the feedback on the aesthetic changes have been terrific as well.”
For more information on Suzuki Motor of America, Inc., please click here. For more information on the Municipal Water District of Orange County and it’s turf removal rebate program, please click here.