Corporate Responsibility

We have a long and distinguished history of helping the community. Among these efforts is our commitment to lessening our impact on the environment with sustainable and green business practices.

Document Shredding

Our commitment to green business practices extends to the communities we serve. In June we held a free Community Shredding Day at our location on Schwenk Drive in Kingston, With the assistance of Legal Shred we helped save over 35 trees by recycling two tons of shredded paper. In addition, our shredding events help keep our community safe from identity theft. Stay tuned for more shredding events in Ulster and Dutchess County.

LED Indoor Lighting

In August 2022 we had LED lighting installed in the workspaces and offices at our Schwenk Drive headquarters. LED lighting products are known for high performance, energy efficiency, and long term savings. LED lighting products have a longer life-span, produce less heat, are eco-friendly, do not create noise, and work on a lower voltage. We continue our commitment to green, energy-saving practices.

Ulster County Certified Green Business Partner

We are proud to be a certified Ulster County Green Business Partner. The Ulster County Green Business Champions (UCGBC) program is designed to help businesses operate sustainably and receive public recognition for their efforts. Becoming a Certified Green Business means implementing practices that reduce energy and water consumption, prevent pollution, diverts waste from landfills and assist staff in creating a cleaner healthier environment for their employees.

Electric Vehicle Charging Station

Ulster Savings Bank recently installed an electric vehicle solar charging station at its main headquarters in Kingston. The charging station can accommodate six cars and has a 20′ x 70′ solar carport to protect vehicles. It’s lit with LED lights that are powered by 50 solar panels on its canopy. The solar canopy produces 20,000 KWH and has its own electric meter. An app alerts users when their car is fully charged. The bank will be offering one hour free charge to the public. The project was designed and manufactured by Tom Kacandes of Inside Track Solar. The company, from Highland, NY specializes in solar panels that are pre-assembled off-site. It was installed by Jaffer Electric, Inc. of Kingston.

USB Goes Solar

The bank installed 43 solar panels on the roof of our Red Hook branch. The project was installed by Aries Power, Inc. from Albany, NY a company that specializes in renewable energy development and services. Each of the 450-watt panels has its own micro-inverter that allows for easy monitoring and troubleshooting. The cloud-based interface is controlled by computer or cell phone.

It’s anticipated that the bank will have a 28% annual offset of electricity with this 19.3kWp system. Any surplus of energy produced will feed into the Central Hudson grid and will be returned to the bank in the form of statement credits. New York State provided Ulster Savings with a one-time credit through NYSERDA that helped offset any upfront costs.

Green - Actually White - Roof

Did you know our Schwenk Drive branch in Kingston has a white roof? The color of a roof not only affects energy use, but it can also impact global climate change. Black roofs absorb heat, which slowly heats up the buildings themselves. A building with a white roof maintains a cooler temperature than that of the outside air. Having a white roof also means we don’t need to use as much air conditioning thereby reducing our energy costs between 10-40%

Electric Car

The bank added a Nissan Leaf—a fully electric car—to its vehicle fleet. Battery electric vehicles don’t produce any tailpipe emissions, are cheaper to operate, require less maintenance, are safer and easy to use, and very quiet.

LED Outdoor Lighting

At our Kingston headquarters, we recently replaced and installed parking lot and outdoor building lights with energy-efficient LEDs. Not only are LED lights energy saving, they also have a better lighting performance with a significant reduction in maintenance costs.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

We are committed to reducing our paper usage. Transactions at our branches are paperless. Our "Think First, Waste Less" campaign encourages staff to think before printing. Online banking, online bill pay, and paperless statements encourages customers to reduce reliance on paper. We also recycle electronic waste such as toner and donate office furniture.

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