UTC Employees Lead 2015 Green Apple Day of Service Events Around the World

FARMINGTON, Conn., Sept. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Employees from across United Technologies Corp. are volunteering in their local communities to lead sustainability events designed to transform schools into healthy, safe and productive learning environments. Over the next few weeks, hundreds of UTC employees in the U.S., China and Mexico will participate in an estimated 20 school sustainability projects, all part of this year's Green Apple Day of Service.

The U.S. Green Building Council's Center for Green Schools created the Green Apple Day of Service in 2012. This marks the fourth year that UTC employees will participate in the event. Since inception, Green Apple Day of Service volunteers have reached 7 million students in 60 countries. In addition to helping provide a sustainable environment for the 25 percent of Americans who go to school every day as students, faculty, staff and administrators, their efforts also highlight the company's belief that education about sustainability will accelerate green building practices.

"Our employees are dedicated sustainability leaders both at work and in their communities, embodying the UTC commitment to advance green dialogue and improve green buildings through education," said John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer for United Technologies Corporation's buildings systems businesses. "Events like the Green Apple Day of Service provide the perfect opportunity to help our communities improve their schools, while fostering improved environmental literacy among students and their communities. Studies have shown green building environments have a positive effect on both building energy efficiency and the ability for students to learn, making these kinds of improvements critical and invaluable for future generations."

UTC's 2015 Green Apple Day of Service events for the fall season were kicked off in Shanghai by employees from Carrier, Otis, Sigma, Chubb, GST and UTC Aerospace Systems. The volunteers renovated classrooms at the Qingpu Yinxian Primary School and created a library corner with learning materials emphasizing environmental stewardship.

Other events include:  

• Sept. 22-23 – Shelton, Connecticut: Sikorsky volunteers assisted students at Sunnyside Elementary School with building bird feeders using recycled materials.
• Sept. 25-26 – East Hartford and Hartford, Connecticut: Pratt & Whitney volunteers will help students clean the riverfront along the Connecticut River Academy in East Hartford and the campus/neighborhoods surrounding the Academy of Engineering and Green Technology.
• Sept. 25 – Hartford, Connecticut: UTC Corporate volunteers will clean up school grounds and plant flowers with students from Naylor School.
• Sept. 26 – West Palm Beach, Florida: Pratt & Whitney employees will visit Wynnebrook Elementary School to plant a garden and teach students the benefits of healthy eating and sustainable food production. This project will be recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council's Center for Green Schools.
• Sept. 26 – Baja California, Mexico: UTC Aerospace Systems volunteers will take on several projects at Primaris-Lic Torres Bodet School, including recycling, clean up and gardening.
• Oct. 9 – Boston, Massachusetts: NORESCO will lead students in an energy audit at Boston Public School's Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, as part of the USGBC's Massachusetts chapter's largest Green Apple Day of Service event in the chapter's history.

"UTC's steadfast commitment to the green schools movement is best exemplified by their annual participation in Green Apple Day of Service," said Rachel Gutter, director, Center for Green Schools, U.S. Green Building Council. "Since we launched the event in 2012, hundreds of UTC employees have dedicated their time to organize and lead high-impact school transformation projects throughout the communities in which they live and serve. By acting on the shared belief that where our students learn matters, UTC leadership on Green Apple Day of Service has accelerated our progress toward providing safer, healthier, more efficient learning environments for all students within this generation."

United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. Our businesses include Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, UTC Aerospace Systems, UTC Climate, Controls & Security and Otis. For more information, visit our website at www.utc.com or follow us on Twitter: @UTC. For information about UTC's commitment to the communities where our employees live and work, visit www.utc.com/makethingsbetter.

SOURCE United Technologies Corp.

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