AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -

Late last week, Chrysler Group revealed a group of dealers the company is honoring for their eco-friendly operations, in an effort to share some of the stores’ energy-efficient best practices across its dealer network.

This is Chrysler’s second annual Dealer Enviromentally Councious Operations (ECO) program, which recognizes 30 Chrysler Group dealerships in the U.S. each year "to demonstrate these stores commitment to eco-friendly business practices."

This year, the dealerships are located in 21 states, with four each in Michigan and Florida, and two each in California, North Carolina and Texas, officials shared.

Each dealership — chosen for recognition based on data from dealership online surveys and in-dealership notes  — were presented with an ECO plaque and souvenirs for dealership employees.

"Selection was based on a dealership's major ECO initiatives, energy efficiency, waste recycling, wastewater control, bulk oil containment, vehicle lift maintenance and community relations program," the automaker shared.

Chrysler Group offered some insight into just what types of technologies these dealerships are utilizing, using one of the honorees — Westgate Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Raleigh, N.C. — as an example.

This store installed 420 solar panels on its service department roof, capitalizing on the North Carolina sun.

But the store doesn’t actually use the electricity generated from this investment to power its store.

Instead, Westgate sells it to the region's electric power company at a fixed rate, opening up another avenue for profit.

According to Chrysler group, by selling power generated by its solar panel system, "Westgate realizes a monthly savings of $1,800 to $3,000, depending on the season, savings that typically is passed on to the dealership's customers."

Commenting on this dealership’s efforts, Peter Grady, vice president of network development  and fleet at Chrysler Group, said, "Westgate is a prime example of how our dealerships are making significant contributions to the environment and to Chrysler Group's commitment to creating a sustainable enterprise.

"We commend these dealers for their initiatives and look forward to sharing their stories and successes with other dealerships throughout our dealer network," he added.

The full list of this year’s ECO dealers and locations are:

Sterling Heights Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, Sterling Heights, Mich.
Golling Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Ram, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Roseville Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Roseville, Mich.
Dadeland Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Miami, Fla.
Brandon Auto Mall FIAT, Brandon, Fla.
FIAT of North Miami, North Miami, Fla.
FIAT of Melbourne, Melbourne, Fla.
Hunter Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Lancaster, Calif.
Kearny Mesa FIAT, San Diego, Calif.
Helfman Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, Houston, Texas
Helfman FIAT, Houston, Texas  
FIAT of the Triad, Greensboro, N.C.  
Westgate Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Raleigh, N.C.  
L. T. Begnal Motor Co., Kingston, N.Y.  
Tacoma Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Tacoma, Wash.  
Cavanaughs' Motors, Monmouth, Ill.  
Tom O'Brien Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Indianapolis, Ind.  
Fury Motors Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, South St. Paul, Minn.  
Foster Motors, Middlebury, Vt.  
Crown Chattanooga Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Chattanooga, Tenn.  
Eau Claire Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Eau Claire, Wisc.  
Fred Frederick Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Laurel, MD  
Flower Motor Co., Montrose, Colo.  
Secor Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, New London, Conn.  
Salem Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Salem, Ohio  
Bryant Motors, Sedalia, Mo.  
Sea View Auto Corp., Ocean Township, N.J.  
Akins Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, Winder, Ga.  
Direct Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Wytheville, Va.  

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