Meadowlands_Challenge

Welcome

The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) is pleased to announce the Meadowlands Challenge, a fun and friendly competition designed to promote energy efficiency, increase recycling efforts and help address the causes of Global Warming within the Meadowlands area. The challenge encourages area businesses to examine their energy use and recycling practices and find ways to improve performance in these areas. Companies that participate will be publicly recognized as green leaders.

Leading by Example

The NJMC completed an energy audit last fall and is now taking steps to reduce consumption, increase paper and metal recycling and encourage employees to find other ways to reduce their carbon footprint. They switched from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs in their administration building and Meadowlands Environment Center, at the Commission’s DeKorte Park campus. Motion-sensitive light switches and an expanded recycling policy have also been added. The NJMC has also partnered with a Trenton-based company, Terracycle, that collects specific products – certain juice pouches and candy wrappers – to be made into other items in a process called "upcycling," and provides a donation for educational programs in return. In addition, the Commission sponsors a shuttle bus that links workers with the Lyndhurst train station and is encouraging employees to find other ways to conserve energy at work.

Join the Challenge

The NJMC, along with the Meadowlands Regional Chamber, are encouraging all Meadowlands-area businesses to examine their energy use and recycling practices and find ways to improve performance in those areas. Participating businesses will be asked to start with an assessment of their current operations and maintenance practices (this does not need to be a professional energy audit). NJMC staff will provide a list of goals and potential action items for increasing efficiency. Businesses will then compete against themselves to reach these goals; those who see the greatest percentage in energy reduction will be awarded prizes. All businesses will be recognized for their participation.

Getting started

Commission staff will be available to assist companies with a variety of techniques to increase energy efficiency at different levels of cost and effort. Experiences will be shared among the group to maximize the overall benefits.

Want to learn more? Click here to view the full PDF outlining the mission and goals of the Challenge, and more details on how you can get involved!