In the near future, going green will no longer be optional. Rather than waiting to react to regulatory mandates,
manufacturers that have their eye on the future are starting to turn environmental sustainability into a competitive advantage.
This year, we’re pleased to recognize 15 deserving organizations with Evolution of Manufacturing awards and
present to you their stories. Each is contributing in its own way to this green revolution.
As part of our special cover story report on sustainability in manufacturing, we also sat down with Dallas billionaire T. Boone Pickens to talk about the Pickens Plan.
Later this month at the 2009 Evolution of Manufacturing Conference at Hyland Software, we will present a town-hall forum on sustainability featuring this dynamic group of speakers:
Jenniffer Deckard, chief financial officer of Fairmount Minerals. Fairmount issues an annual Corporate
Social Responsibility report that outlines explicit goals the company wants to reach, such as land reclamation
activities and greenhouse gas emissions, and then ties every employee’s personal bonus to the successful completion of the goals.
Holly Harlan, founder and CEO of Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S). E4S is a diverse network of more
than 5,000 leaders who put the principles of sustainability into action by providing resources, learning programs and awareness initiatives.
Scott Weyandt, plant manager for Shearer’s Foods Inc., one of this year’s honorees. Shearer’s created a comprehensive energy management program and is building the state of Ohio’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design) gold-certified food manufacturing facility.
Ron Weinberg, chairman and CEO of Hawk Corp. Hawk received a $1 million grant from the state of Ohio
to aid in the company’s development of fuel cell components.
We asked each panelist for some “pre-event” insight on sustainability.
Jennifer Deckard
CFO
Fairmount Minerals
From a CFO’s perspective, how
do you evaluate the cost/benefit
ratio of Fairmount’s sustainability
initiatives?
I would prefer to answer that question very simply by saying that ensuring that our business practices take
into careful consideration our environmental and social responsibilities is
the right thing to do — period. However, since there is a need to ensure
financial relevance to business initiatives, sustainable business practices
pay, they don’t cost — period.
We do continue to develop systems to track both the costs and the
benefits of our sustainable development program. For example, one initiative that involves switching to
reusable, recyclable bulk packing
has saved the company over
$550,000 per year, while improving
our environmental footprint.
However, some of the greatest economic values are quite difficult to
quantify. What is the dollar value of a
happier, healthier, more proud, more
engaged work force? That translates
to higher retention, higher productivity
and improved attendance. Innovation
in our products and processes
enhance our competitiveness.
Also, as a mining company, we
need both a governmental and a
community license to operate. When
we look to obtain a new mining permit, the success of that undertaking is
certainly expedited due to our reputation and to our true commitment to the
communities in which we operate.
In one particular example, we
gained a mining permit a full year in
advance of a competitor trying to do
the same thing. This translated to
millions of additional dollars to our
bottom line by getting our operation
up and running a year sooner than
we might have otherwise. This was
due 100 percent to our environment-and community-friendly approach to
doing business, including the true
engagement of our community
members in the process.
Holly Harlan
founder and CEO
Entrepreneurs for Sustainability
How can any manufacturer begin
a sustainability initiative?
1. Conduct an energy audit. There
are many firms that will complete
an energy audit for your company.
See E4S Sustainable B2B Directory
for contact information. Audits
should provide no-cost and low-cost ways to reduce your energy
requirements as well as more
extensive capital projects.
2. Conduct a waste audit. Dive
into your company Dumpsters
and discover ways to reduce
waste costs, refrain from buying
items that end up in the garbage
and start a recycle program for
many of the other items that you
find in your Dumpster. Zero-waste
BHAGs (big hairy audacious
goals) are on the increase.
3. Start a green team. This is a
cross-functional team that will
work together to discover new
ways to apply sustainability principles to reduce costs and discover new revenue streams while
reducing your company’s environmental footprint.
4. Explore new business opportunities in emerging markets like
wind, solar photovoltaic, solar
thermal and deconstruction.
What common obstacles do leaders face when they want to pursue sustainability initiatives?
Busting common myths (green
costs more money) and educating employees about the principles of sustainability that will
bring triple bottom-line benefits to
their companies and the region.
Scott Weyandt
plant manager
Shearer’s Foods Inc.
How is Shearer’s committed to
sustainability?
It’s smart business, and it’s the
right thing to do. As we grow, we
will apply what we learn to grow
responsibly. In 2009, Shearer’s
will begin construction of a LEED
gold-certified facility in Massillon
as well as continue to upgrade its
plants in Lubbock, Texas, and
Brewster, Ohio, to gain LEED certification for existing structures.
Shearer’s goal is to accomplish
our mission while doing what’s
right — creating great snacks
while helping to preserve our natural resources for future generations — one chip at a time!
How does the Massillon plant fit
in to that goal?
LEED certification includes
proving compliance with a very
strict set of guidelines intended
to assist businesses in making
the correct choices for sustainability as well as long-term
resource conservation. The
design and construction of the
facility must use sustainable and
local materials and labor. Energy
use for building operations must
show a minimum of 14 percent
reduction in natural gas and
electric use. Reduction in water
use must, at a minimum, be
equal to 30 percent of existing
best practices. And the building
must include provisions for the
use of alternative energy, such as
day lighting, wind energy or solar
power.
Ron Weinberg
chairman and CEO
Hawk Corp.
Hawk Corp., a manufacturer of
friction-related products, started
an initiative that supports sustainability and green manufacturing
— the manufacture of components for stationary fuel cells.
In the company’s most recent
annual report, Weinberg
described it this way: “It is my
observation that great companies
develop a clear, sustainable
strategy and continue to innovate
and execute against it long term.
Our expertise in advanced material manufacturing technologies
used in the production of our friction materials and the similarities
in the process for making friction
materials to that for making components for fuel cells afford us
the opportunity to participate in
this exciting project.
“We have been invited by an
industry leader in fuel cell development to produce components
for fuel cells to be used for
standby, primary and supplemental power. During 2007, we
began work on a manufacturing
cell to produce fuel cell components and expect to bring this
production online during 2008.
This allowed us to take advantage of a $1 million grant from the
state of Ohio to support this project.
“Given the seriousness of the
national effort to lessen dependency on foreign oil and the interest in clean alternative fuel
sources, we believe our fuel cell
component business could prove
to be a substantial opportunity for
Hawk in the future.”
