Fitzgerald Auto Mall Celebrates Earth Day the Fitz Way

Jack Fitzgerald Builds First LEED Gold Dealership East of the Mississippi

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Apr 21, 2010, 10:00 ET

GERMANTOWN, Md., April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- When you are an automotive dealership, it is tough to be environmentally friendly to Mother Earth and your community. This industry is known for wasting energy -- blazing lights across the horizon in huge dealership showrooms and across vast parking lots, unfriendly waste materials produced by the repair shops, and the trash generated by hundreds of employees.

One man has made it his mission to decrease the carbon footprint left by his businesses. "I started to look at how we were impacting the environment, and I wanted to go beyond simply meeting environmental laws and regulations," said Jack Fitzgerald, founder of Fitzgerald Auto Malls, with dealerships in three states on the East Coast. "My commitment to protecting our environment extends to everyday practices and my business decisions," Fitzgerald adds.

Jack Fitzgerald celebrated Earth Day with a Ribbon Cutting ceremony at his Germantown, Maryland dealership. This dealership holds the honor of being awarded LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Constructed in 2009, Fitzgerald Auto Mall Germantown features on site Solar Trees that aid in powering the building, in addition to wind power. It is the first LEED Gold dealership East of the Mississippi.

"Jack Fitzgerald has been a real leader in the automotive industry for many years, and he's consistently given back to our community. I applaud Jack for achieving LEED Gold certification for this new dealership, and salute his efforts at environmental sustainability. Even in these tough economic times, Jack has never wavered in his commitment to building green and doing his part to preserve our precious natural resources," said Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Highlights at the ceremony included test-driving of Hybrid vehicles. The showroom held a wonderful display of posters from local schoolchildren who entered the Fitzgerald Green Poster contest.

All of the electricity at Fitzgerald facilities is purchased from Green renewable energy sources, mostly wind power at all of the dealerships in Maryland. In 2009, Fitzgerald dealerships recycled 65% to 88% of the solid waste generated at each of their facilities. Fitzgerald Auto Malls was recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a Green Power Partner. It is a long-standing member of the Clean Energy Partnership.

Fitzgerald Auto Malls is an ISO 14001 registered company and committed to establish and maintain an Environmental Management System (EMS). It recognizes that an effective EMS system is a never-ending journey of continuous effort and improvement. It is the first automotive dealership group to have achieved ISO14001:2004 certification.

www.FitzMall.com

SOURCE Fitzgerald Auto Malls