Independent Bank, Ionia Main was Awarded for the 2023 Michigan Battle of the Buildings Competition in the Financial Institution Category
This year we celebrated 10 years of the Michigan Energy Summit and 10 years of amazing projects and energy efficiency initiatives! Over the past 10 years, we have had a total of 149 winners from 75 different organizations, representing 264 Michigan cities. Since the program's inception in 2014, our competitors have redirected over $100 million of utility costs back to their bottom line and avoided almost 550,000 metric tons of CO2e. Over 272 million square feet of Michigan commercial real estate competed against each other in 2023 in this biggest loser-styled energy competition. The 2023 Michigan Battle of the Buildings competitors saved $7.4 million in energy costs and avoided 47,178 metric tons of CO2e which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 55,514 acres of US forests in one year! This year we had 11 industry-specific category winners. We are so excited to announce Independent Bank, Ionia Main, as the 2023 Michigan Battle of the Buildings winner in the Financial Institution category!
Independent Bank started as First National Bank of Ionia in 1864 and is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year. Today, Independent Bank is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has almost 60 locations in the lower peninsula. The Ionia Main location is a 21,240 square foot branch downtown Ionia, Michigan. Energy efficiency projects at this location included two upgrades of boilers that were over 20 years old and upgraded electrical service from single-phase to three-phase. They partnered with Van Haren Electric and B&V Mechanical on the two projects. In addition to their reduced energy consumption of 37.82%, they received $2,000 in rebates.
When analyzing projects at this location, the facilities team looked into the age of the equipment, cost per square foot of energy, and looked into the Energy Star score of the building. Over the last year, Independent Bank has worked with Consumers Energy to get all of their buildings benchmarked and through that process, achieved ENERGY STAR certification for 37 buildings.
The bank’s vision is to “guide, serve, and empower people to improve their lives and the world we live in, and to ultimately Be Independent.” When asked how the company’s values relate to the project, Nicole Krueger, AVP, Facilities Asset Manager stated, “Community Banking is an important part of our company’s mission. Working with local businesses on these energy savings projects helps foster and strengthen banking relationships in addition to the benefit of reducing our energy footprint.” They are striving to make energy-saving changes to improve efficiency throughout all of their locations. Over the next 5 years, they plan to upgrade their HVAC & Drive-Thru Equipment to replace them with more energy-efficient units.
In addition to fostering relationships and focusing on energy efficiency, they strive to give back to the community through programs focusing on Junior Achievement, affordable housing, and their annual Be the Difference Day. We were excited to celebrate Independent Bank’s accomplishments in energy efficiency at our annual Michigan Energy Summit on May 8, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they were awarded in the Financial Institution category!