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STERLING HEIGHTS — Staff at Gold ‘N Oven Gourmet Bake Shop in Sterling Heights describe the business as a bakery that serves Middle Eastern pastries and lunch delicacies.
Recently, the bakery has risen to the occasion in another way: energy efficiency.
DTE Energy recently gave awards to local energy-efficient businesses as part of its 2022 Business Pride contest, and Gold ‘N Oven won third place.
DTE said it invited its business customers to apply before closing its submission process in November 2022. Businesses were invited to express how they reduce energy usage, improve energy efficiency, cut greenhouse gas emissions and more.
According to DTE, as an award winner, Gold ‘N Oven got $2,000 to use toward additional improvements in energy efficiency. Linda Dickow, the manager of Gold ‘N Oven, said she appreciates the contest and the prize.
“We are a small business. When we first opened, we didn’t have any money for marketing,” she explained.
“After COVID and the rising costs of everything, it was a great help to win the contest. We are now 100% LED efficient. We are seeing a difference already in our electric bill. It’s only been one month.”
Anne Santori, a senior communications strategist for DTE, said the contest doesn’t just incentivize energy efficiency. Part of the prize includes a walk-through energy assessment to guide the top three winners toward further improving their efficiency.
“These are things like switching out their lightbulbs to LEDs or making other improvements to improve their overall energy consumption,” Santori said.
“Business owners are busy running their businesses, so energy efficiency may fall down on their list of priorities. But it can make a difference,” she continued. “These contest winners, they’re all at different stages in that energy-efficiency journey. It can help businesses either start that energy-efficiency journey or keep moving forward.”
The other companies that earned the Business Pride prizes are first-place Ray’s Ice Cream in Royal Oak and, in second place, Sanilac County Humane Society in Carsonville, Michigan.
Learn more about Gold ‘N Oven Gourmet Bake Shop, 4104 15 Mile Road in Sterling Heights, by visiting facebook.com/gold noven or by calling (586) 979-7300. Learn more about DTE Energy by visiting www.dteenergy.com.
