Kat Schon and Penney Stephenson of Portland Store Fixtures make a business of saving. They rescue used shelving, displays and other store fixtures from going to landfills and sell them at a fraction of what new pieces cost.

Energy savings is part of their plan, too. They’ve focused on cutting energy use and costs and being environmentally responsible since the beginning.

Roughly half of their 16,500-square-foot building underwent a lighting upgrade about five years ago. The pair have also installed a programmable thermostat, replaced an old, inefficient refrigerator and installed energy-efficient windows.

In 2008, as part of its Save More, Matter More pledge, the company upgraded the lighting in the remaining half of the building, including “horrible, flickering T12s,” Schon says. With new high-performance T8 lighting and occupancy sensors the store is brighter, the merchandise looks better and the savings are noticeable.

This year’s pledge is to switch to a new, 94-percent energy efficient Marathon hot water heater and LED exit signs. It may also include efficiency upgrades to the HVAC system.

As with last year’s project, Schon aims to qualify for Energy Trust incentives and Oregon Business Energy Tax Credits that can offset up to 50 percent of an efficiency upgrade.

That help makes it easier to tackle such projects during a tight economy. And though motivated primarily by the environmental benefits, the two businesswomen agree that the financial benefits — from incentives and credits to lower energy bills — are a nice bonus. After all, they’re all about saving.