2008 Recognition Award Winners
Frito-Lay (Beloit)
- Achieved a 24% growth at their Beloit facility while decreasing CO2 by 17%
- Recover and reuse heat throughout their facility, redirecting over 4 million BTUs of waste heat from operation to operation, saving over $300,000 and 1,500 metric tons/year
- Participate in EPA’s SmartWay Transport program to reduce emissions and save money on fuel and maintenance. Truck retrofit activities under the program include aerodynamics, automatic tire inflation systems, direct-fire heaters for idle reduction and extended life oil filters.
- Landfill only 1% of their waste
- Formed an internal Green Team for internal and community outreach
- Developed a 5 year sustainability plan for energy, greenhouse gas and waste reductions
Kohl’s Department Stores (Menomonee Falls)
- Increased their amount of renewable energy use to 17% and 67 stores activated solar arrays
- Received an EPA Green Power Partnership Leadership Award and 109 stores earned EPA’s Energy Star label for excellence in energy efficiency
- Reduced spotlights in all 1,022 stores, saving $1.5 million/year in energy costs
- Ship 34% of their products with rail and only work ship with EPA SmartWay
- Transport certified carriers, earning them a SmartWay Shipper Excellence Award
- Increased amount of preferred parking for carpoolers at headquarters due to high demand
- Launched kohlsgreenscene.com web site to share their success stories and encourage others to follow suit
- Measures its carbon footprint and reports it to national climate change programs
Mcloone Metal Graphics (La Crosse)
- Set an aggressive 3 year goal to reduce VOCs and exceeded by reducing 85% in just 1 year
- Changed cleaning processes to reach goal: switched to non-VOC solvents; use mist sprayers for cleaning screens; eliminated a screen washing machine that generated 4 tons/year in fugitive VOCs; and switched to removable adhesives to mounts dies into presses rather than adhesives that required strong solvents to remove
- Switched to UV-cured inks, reducing dry time and eliminating 100% of the VOCs
- Installed a solvent reclaiming system to minimize waste by distilling and reusing solvent
- Moved their aluminum plate priming process to an outside company who recaptures the VOCs for fuel
2009 Commuter Champion
We Energies
Selected as a Commuter Champion for their consistent efforts to provide an array of alternative transportation options for their employees to travel to and from work. Since 2005, We Energies has been recognized in the Best Workplace for Commuters program (BWC) for offering their employees outstanding commuter benefits and meeting the Environmental Protection Agency's National Standard of Excellence. The BWC program promotes commuter benefits that reduce traffic congestion, employee stress and air pollution.
We Energies again exceeded the BWC-required minimum of 14 percent participation, or about 200 We Energies employees at their corporate headquarters. We Energies continues to go above and beyond to make employees comfortable with alternative commuting to make an effective program. Options available at all company locations include:
- Pre-tax benefits for parking and transit users;
- Rideshare program for matching carpool participants. Three-person carpools park free and 2-person carpools receive discounted rate;
- Commuter Value programs (Value Pass & Commuter Certificate);
- Flexible parking available for regular alternative commuters; and
- A bicycle program including bike racks, lockers, and air pumps