G&R Body Shop

The Car Care Council recently released an online version of its popular Care Care Guide (www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/mercury/carcareguide/).

The e-book, which is written in easy-to-understand language both for the lay consumer and auto repair professionals, includes descriptions of major vehicle systems, a list of questions to ask your auto repair technician when maintenance or repairs are being done, and a check-list of recommended maintenance services. Also, new in this issue: Sections on fuel economy and environmental awareness.

The e-book is super-easy to navigate page-by-page or by using the search tool and typing in a term (i.e., fuel filter or carburetor) to go straight to the information you’re looking for.

There’s even a Spanish-language version: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aaia/carcareguide_sp/#/0.

The Car Care Council operates the  “Be Car Care Aware” campaign, a consumer education campaign about the benefits of regular vehicle care, maintenance and repair. Built around three key message areas of safety, dependability and pride of ownership, the campaign is spearheaded by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), with the Car Care Council serving as the brand and messaging source. To learn more about the Car Care Council, visit http://www.carcare.org.

G&R Body & Paint recently became the first collision repair shop in the state of California to receive the Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair’s (CCAR) new “GreenLink Shop” designation.

In order to receive the GreenLink Shop designation, G&R Body & Paint was required to meet standards in environmental, health and safety practices in four categories: business operations, employee training, safety compliance and environmental management.

“We are excited to welcome G&R Body & Paint to the GreenLink Shop program,” said Rod Enlow, CCAR Vice President of Industry Relations, as quoted in CCAR’s news release announcing G&R’s GreenLink recognition. “Today’s retail customer is knowledgeable and enlightened with regard to environmental responsibility and safety awareness, and G&R’s desire to attain this level of recognition should give their customers and insurance partners great satisfaction and confidence in this facility.”  

The GreenLink Shop program is part of the CCAR-GreenLink Environmental Compliance Assistance Center and S/P2 (Safety and Pollution Prevention) E-learning Program. The program, which recognizes both auto mechanical and collision repair shops, is designed to promote consumer confidence in their local facilities’ environmental/safety awareness and stewardship.

We learned about the GreenLink Shop program through G&R Body & Paint’s partnership with GEICO, as one of GEICO’s Auto Repair Xpress facilities. GEICO has been working with CCAR to promote the GreenLink Shop program nationwide.

As I wrote in an earlier blog post, G&R also recently became part of the Certified Green Investment Registry Program, which requires us to comply with an extensive checklist of environmentally responsible best practices in our collision repair shop—such as upgrades to energy-efficient equipment and lighting, investing in pollution control equipment, taking care with how we store and dispose of paints and chemicals, and providing our employees with up-to-date training in environmental best practices.

As many businesses are discovering these days, our financial and manpower investments in greening our Sacramento body shop will pay off  in lower energy costs, healthier conditions for our employees and generally better-run, more efficient operations. But that’s not the only reason G&R Body & Paint is working to be earth-friendly. The main reason is that it’s ‘right thing’ to do, not only for the environment, but also for our employees and our community.

 As all of us go home to our families at night, it’s important that we feel good about both the quality of our work and our role as good citizens; it’s not just about bringing in the paycheck. That’s the real reason that G&R Body & Paint makes safety and environmental awareness a priority.

 CCAR is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation established in 1994 as a coalition of 38 national automotive trade organization, representing all segments of the service and repair industry. Today the organization has more than 200 affiliate organizations. Its mission is to work – on an international scope – with the automotive industry, career and technical schools, governments and other organizations to provide best practice information and training, and to measure improvements related to environmental responsibility, workplace safety, cost-effective training methods, risk management and other issues affecting the industry.