News

Chapel Hill Tire Car Care Center owner Marc Pons has earned a national award for his exceptional commitment to a sustainable community and his pioneering leadership in bringing green principles to the automotive care industry.

The Institute for Sustainable Development announced the winners of the Green Plus North American Sustainable Enterprise Awards during a recent ceremony at its RTP headquarters. Green Plus is an Institute program that educates and certifies small and medium businesses across the country in triple bottom line sustainability in the areas of people, planet and performance.

Pons was recognized for the green renovation of his Carrboro store. The sustainable retrofitting of the facility, built around 1905, included a solar panel system and three new state-of the-art service bays, constructed of salvaged and recycled materials and equipped with the latest automotive diagnostic equipment. Other green features include insulated low-e windows, energy-efficient LED lighting, dual-flush toilets, interior finishes such as low VOC paints, and reduced impervious surface landscaping with rainwater collection cistern to reduce stormwater run-off. Pons also introduced the Triangle to environmentally friendly oil (EFO) for oil changes and the NitroFill tire inflation system to boost tire efficiency and life and reduce tire waste.

To learn more about the company, call (919) 967-7058 or visit www.chapelhilltire.com. For more information on the awards program, visit www.gogreenplus.org.