| Green Mission Statement Southern Oregon Subaru is committed to eliminating waste, optimizing our recycling efforts, and looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment. We are constantly looking for ways to help create a cleaner environment for future generations. SOSubaru has been a Subaru Certified Eco-friendly Retailer since September 2014 and we were recertified again in 2025. Being green isn't a trend. It's who we are and what we stand for. |
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Conserving Energy
EV Charging
When we built our new Express Service facility, we added charging stations for EV's.
Skylights
Our service bay and parts departments use skylights to save energy and to help create a better working environment so that our technicians can do an excellent job servicing your vehicle while reducing our electricity usage.
Lighting
Our lot lights are all LED, creating a savings on our monthly bill and helping the environment by reducing our energy consumption. The increased life-span of the LED lights also means that we are generating far less non-recyclable products that will end up in the landfill.
Power Generation
We have a 9.1kW solar power installation on our Parts & Service building and a 58.6kW installation on our Express Service building that offsets our monthly electrical usage. This helps the environment by reducing our energy consumption.
Our water heaters are Energy Star compliant, and we are an Energy Star Partner.
Conserving Water
We use low-flow fixtures in our restrooms. For our lawns, we use low-flow high-efficiency sprinklers that emit 2/3rds less water, and we reduced the watering time and switched to watering only at night, minimizing the amount of water we use. Doing this has resulted in lowering the cost of watering, and virtually eliminating the chance that any run-off reaches the local watershed.
In 2024, we reduced our greenspace water use by
approximately 25%.
Our expanded Express Service facility has a bioswale to slow down rainwater and filter run-off from the parking lot. The facility also has new car wash with water reclamation. Since 2023, we have reduced outdoor water use by approximately 25% and that is after years of fine-tuning the system and continuous reductions.
Our commitment to the environment is getting greener every day!
Grounds maintenance
We use bio-friendly lawn care products which eliminates watershed issues. We also take all yard debris (lawn clippings and tree pruning debris) to Rogue Disposal where it is turned into OMRI Certified compost.
Our landscape team has converted the majority of their
equipment to battery operated. Plans are
in place to replace the remaining ICE equipment as well.
Recycle and Reuse
Through the TerraCycle program, we recycle coffee cups (of all types) and lids and snack wrappers. We also use waste oil from oil changes in an eco-friendly heating system in our Express Service building.
Reducing Waste
We have significantly reduced the amount of forms and general paperwork being printed by going digital. What we do print gets recycled.
We recycle used coolant and oil, used batteries, tires, fluorescent bulbs, solvents, oily rags, soda cans, scrap metal, cardboard and wood pallets.
Recycling these things greatly reduces the amount of material we send to the landfill.
Recycling these things greatly reduces the amount of material we send to the landfill.
Update: as of 2018, and in conjunction with Subaru of America and TerraCycle, we are now recycling more in-store produced waste: coffee cups (including those that our visiting customer bring in), k-cups (including those that are dropped off by our customers), and snack wrappers from our vending machines.
Our Green Team
We have an on-site Jackson County Master Recycler that leads our energy- and waste-reduction team in finding new and creative ways to reduce our consumption and increase our recycling efforts. Our team consists of staff from each department and we meet to discuss progress and new ideas.
From left to right: Craig Koch (Assistant Parts Manager), Wendy Crutchfield (Customer Relations Manager), Jeff Nickel (Sales Professional), John Wescom (Service Technician), Ryan Stanard (Detail Professional), Bryant Kelley (Service Manager), Rocky Rawstern (Digital Media Manager / Jackson County Master Recycler).
Community Involvement
For Earth Day 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. we gave away 200 locally-sourced trees or shrubs or native plants, while speaking with attendees about our other green initiatives and showing them Subaru vehicles. Seen here, Rocky Rawstern, our Green Team Leader and Jackson County Certified Master Recycler.
Our Green Team
We have an on-site Jackson County Master Recycler that leads our energy- and waste-reduction team in finding new and creative ways to reduce our consumption and increase our recycling efforts. Our team consists of staff from each department and we meet to discuss progress and new ideas.
From left to right: Craig Koch (Assistant Parts Manager), Wendy Crutchfield (Customer Relations Manager), Jeff Nickel (Sales Professional), John Wescom (Service Technician), Ryan Stanard (Detail Professional), Bryant Kelley (Service Manager), Rocky Rawstern (Digital Media Manager / Jackson County Master Recycler).
Community Involvement
For Earth Day 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. we gave away 200 locally-sourced trees or shrubs or native plants, while speaking with attendees about our other green initiatives and showing them Subaru vehicles. Seen here, Rocky Rawstern, our Green Team Leader and Jackson County Certified Master Recycler.
2025: Seen here with Cole Hancock, our Delivery Specialist. 2024: Seen here with James Paluzzi, one of our terrific sales staff.
2023 2022
Past efforts include: Part of our commitment is to being involved in our community. One of the ways that we do that is to sponsor and participate in the Jackson County Master Recyclers and Jackson County Recycling Partnership Plastic Round-ups. At the Plastic Round-ups normally non-recyclable plastics are brought in by local citizens and businesses and taken to where they can be recycled. These events regularly collect tens of thousands of pounds of plastic that would otherwise end up in our local landfill. (Unfortunately, the plastic recycling relationship between China and the US was severed at the end of 2017, resulting in the end of the Plastic Round-ups)
These stats apply to the 2014 Fall Plastic Round-up:
430 supersacks + 15 yards bulk/palletized items
4 stuffed-full semi trucks + 20 additional sacks
64 Master Recyclers + 10 community volunteers
# number of vehicles: 929
# number of households served: 1305
Total weight: 49,100 lbs.!! That is nearly 25 tons of recyclable material diverted from our local landfill.
At the Fall 2015 plastic round-up we had:
421 cars representing 615 households came in on Friday.
396 cars representing 507 households came in on Saturday, for a total of 817 cars and 1122 households!
We ended up with 28 bales of hard plastic weighing 22,120 lbs., 5 bales of nursery plastic weighing 4,140 lbs. and 8 bales of soft plastic weighing 7,440 lbs.
We loose-loaded 10,180 lbs. of baling twine and some other brittle plastic we didn't want to bale. So we shipped a total of 43,880 lbs. of plastic to Agri-Plas.
Combined with the 53,560 lbs. from the Spring 2015 Round-up that brings us to a total of 97,440 lbs.! That's nearly 50 tons of plastic, all processed by volunteers, and all kept out of our local landfill!
These stats apply to the 2014 Fall Plastic Round-up:
430 supersacks + 15 yards bulk/palletized items
4 stuffed-full semi trucks + 20 additional sacks
64 Master Recyclers + 10 community volunteers
# number of vehicles: 929
# number of households served: 1305
Total weight: 49,100 lbs.!! That is nearly 25 tons of recyclable material diverted from our local landfill.
At the Fall 2015 plastic round-up we had:
421 cars representing 615 households came in on Friday.
396 cars representing 507 households came in on Saturday, for a total of 817 cars and 1122 households!
We ended up with 28 bales of hard plastic weighing 22,120 lbs., 5 bales of nursery plastic weighing 4,140 lbs. and 8 bales of soft plastic weighing 7,440 lbs.
We loose-loaded 10,180 lbs. of baling twine and some other brittle plastic we didn't want to bale. So we shipped a total of 43,880 lbs. of plastic to Agri-Plas.
Combined with the 53,560 lbs. from the Spring 2015 Round-up that brings us to a total of 97,440 lbs.! That's nearly 50 tons of plastic, all processed by volunteers, and all kept out of our local landfill!
