In celebration of Earth Day, we are excited to share that CubeSmart has planted more than 90,000 trees across America through its “Plant a Tree” program in partnership with American Forests. The trees have directly helped restore vulnerable ecosystems and endangered habitats in thirteen unique ecosystems. The effects of planting 90,000 trees include keeping 450 tons of pollution (e.g. dust and ozone) out of the air every year as well as storing 2,200 tons of carbon in their trunks and limbs every year.
Since 2010, CubeSmart has worked with American Forests to improve the lives of many people through its Plant a Tree program. Customers have the option of checking a box to “Plant a Tree” when reserving a CubeSmart storage unit online at www.CubeSmart.com or by phone at 800-800-1717. For each self-storage Customer who makes this selection, CubeSmart makes a donation to American Forests’ Global ReLeaf program to plant a native tree at no cost to the Customer. These Customer actions, along with money donated by CubeSmart, have recently brought the program’s tree planting total to date to more than 90,000.
American Forests designates specific locations for these plantings, which have included the following amounts and sites: 15,133 trees in the Bugaboo Wildfire Rehabilitation project in Florida; 9,167 trees in the Blowdown Reforestation project in Minnesota; 10,614 trees in the County Line Wildfire Restoration project in Florida; and 9,433 trees slated to be planted in the 2016 longleaf pine project in Virginia.
“We are able to celebrate this milestone thanks to our Customers’ commitment to the environment and our strong partnership with American Forests,” said Cubesmart President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher P. Marr. “We are pleased to contribute to restoring ecosystems and habitats all over the country while making a difference in air quality and reducing carbon pollution for years to come.”
Along with our commitment to planting trees, CubeSmart regularly evaluates conservation opportunities, and implements policies and practices, to reduce energy consumption, increase efficiency, and expand our sustainability efforts. CubeSmart makes annual investments in energy savings and sustainability projects to increase operating efficiencies and reduce the company’s environmental footprint.
CubeSmart Sustainability and Energy Conservation Initiatives
- CubeSmart opened Austin’s first “net zero energy” commercial building in April 2016.
- CubeSmart increased its 2016 investment in on-site solar voltaic systems by nearly 200% compared to 2014.
- Cubesmart invested over $3 million in energy conserving lighting upgrades at its stores from 2009 through 2015; an additional $1.9 million is budgeted for lighting upgrades in 2016.
- CubeSmart has saved an estimated 3.5 million sheets of paper by implementing a proprietary paperless rental lease process.
- CubeSmart systematically identifies energy consumption issues and focuses reduction efforts by performing an annual energy usage benchmark of a number of properties in key markets.
- CubeSmart deploys energy management systems to dynamically manage energy consumption to maximize energy efficiency at many locations.
- CubeSmart’s dedicated Energy Manager monitors and adjusts daily energy usage for dozens of stores that account for nearly a quarter of CubeSmart’s annual energy usage.
