Celebrating the 2009 Sage Award Finalists!
Posted by Jessica, BiOH Polyols Marketing Manager on November 24, 2009
Drumroll please….. the 2009 Sage Award Finalists have been announced! The 3 finalist companies are Century Furniture, Copeland Furniture, and La-Z-Boy. The Sage Award was created to seek out and recognize innovators with a commitment to sustainable practices, social equity, and profitable growth in the home furnishings and bedding industries. The idea for the Sage Award was hatched by the BiOH polyols team over two years ago, and we partnered with the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) to bring this award program to the industry in 2008. We are proud to continue to sponsor the Sage Award and recognize great companies from whom others can learn. Read more to learn about some of their great stories…
Century Furniture is a family-owned furniture manufacturer that has been in business for more than 60 years. The company has implemented a comprehensive environmental management system within each of its domestic manufacturing plants, and this has resulted in dramatic reductions in energy use, water consumption and waste disposal. Aggressive recycling and resource conservation have become part of the corporate culture as a result of this program. Century has also begun to incorporate sustainability into its product design.
In addition to manufacturing in the United States, Century also procures goods from around the world, both as component parts and as finished products. Among the accomplishments noted by the Sage Award judges were Century’s efforts to push sustainable practices throughout its global supply chain.
We caught up with Alex Shuford, Jr. from Century Furniture shortly after they were named a Sage Award Finalist and captured some of his thoughts on sustainability in their business. Check out the video….
Copeland Furniture has been commited to sustainable manufacturing practices long before eco-friendly became a trend in the residential furniture industry. The company holds a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain of custody certificate and currently manufactures eight product groups that qualify for FSC on-product labeling. They are a founding members of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, and one of only eight companies worldwide that qualify for the Council’s silver exemplary status.
Their environmental initiatives touch every aspect of operations. Sustainably-grown raw materials come from within 100 to 500 miles of the plant. Ninety percent of the electricity used to power their manufacturing equipment comes from sources that are low emission. They are converting their heating plant from oil-fired hot water to wood-fired and using their own waste scrap as fuel. They are taking steps to reduce the use of non-recyclable materials in product packaging and are working with finish suppliers to formulate finishes that use water as the primary solvent. They’ve stopped printing their catalog and now post it entirely on the Internet. Despite all of their accomplishments, Copeland views sustainability as an ongoing process of improvement, rather than as a finite goal.
Gain a little more insight into Copeland Furniture from this short clip we captured of Ben Copeland shortly after they were announced as a Sage Award Finalist…
La-Z-Boy has adopted a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable business practices. Altogether, 11 domestic manufacturing facilities across the United States have implemented an environmental management system to both systematize and accelerate sustainable practices throughout the corporation.
La-Z-Boy’s sustainability initiatives are helping them accomplish significant improvements in energy and water conservation, as well as in waste reduction. In 2008, they used almost 27,000 tons of renewable fuels. They reduced water consumption by more than 6 million gallons, and they recycled or reused more than 50 million pounds of material that previously would have gone to a landfill. La-Z-Boy also has introduced moderately-priced, eco-friendly products (made with BiOH polyols!) under a brand name that millions of consumers recognize.
In addition, La-Z-Boy has a retail group of 68 company-owned stores that have also taken steps to minimize their environmental footprint by implementing energy and waste conservation measures. Across this retail network, the company is in the process of replacing 27,000 light bulbs with eco-friendly alternatives. The store merchandising team has started a “Go Green!” newsletter to encourage further conservation and recycling efforts. For more details on their environmental programs, check out their website.
We weren’t able to catch a video clip of La-Z-Boy after the Sage Award announcement, but I did have a chance to get a few more details from Rod Miller, Director of Environmental Affairs for La-Z-Boy this week. See a few of his responses to my questions below….
What have been some financial impacts of your sustainability efforts?
Our sustainability initiatives have helped us obtain significant improvements in energy, waste and water conservation including the following significant reductions (2008 compared to 2007):
• Reduced total energy consumption by 12% (electrical consumption was reduced by 9% and natural gas consumption by nearly 25%) at six upholstery facilities and 4, 12 and 18% at three case good facilities (also reduced natural gas consumption by 25%).
• Reduced water consumption at three upholstery facilities by 6.68 million gallons.
• Reduced the amount of waste sent to the landfill by an additional two million pounds (almost 15%) at six upholstery facilities. We even further reduced this amount by nearly 400,000 pounds per month in the first six months of 2009.
• Reduced the amount of solid waste going to the landfill by 47 % (139 tons), 63% (202 tons) and 38% (95 tons) at three different case good facilities.
• Reused or recycled more than fifty-million pounds of material.
We continue to utilize renewable wood fuels (26,800 tons in 2008) generated on-site for the production of steam used in our processes. Wood fuel, a renewable energy source via sustainably managed forests, helps reduce green house gas emissions and eliminate solid waste disposal. We also sell excess wood for further reuse by other industries.
What impact have your sustainability efforts had on your employees, your customers?
Besides the positive business and environmental impacts our sustainability initiatives have on our organization, we believe one of the most important outcomes are those that directly affect our employees and their communities. Some examples include:
• Employees have volunteered at the Ronald McDonald Houses across the country, from gathering donations to assisting with the day-to-day activities at the homes.
• An EFEC team visiting the local landfill and recycling center to more fully comprehend our waste management process
• Employees participate in local county selection committee for sustainability project grants
• An EFEC team member provided a presentation at the county Economic and Tourism Council regarding sustainability issues
• A group of employees made a float out of recyclable materials for the local city parade.
What are the benefits of your EcoComfort line?
The EcoComfort by La-Z-Boy line includes the use of soy-based foam in the cushions of several popular sofas, recliners and chairs. The soy material replaces a portion of the petroleum-based product used in manufacturing poly foam. This line also includes a selection of fabrics which have been tested and certified to be environmentally friendly by Oeko-Tex, the world’s definitive ecological certification process and come in a variety of colors and styles which we are proud to say are pleasing to the eye and the environment. Our eco-suede fabric utilizes the plastic of one recycled water bottle for each yard of fabric, thereby reducing waste and pollution. A recliner in the line also features arms made of renewable rubber wood. Many of the other wood materials and components we use are provided by suppliers that have implemented sustainable forest management practices or come from sustainable plantation grown rubber wood. Other wood and fiber based materials utilize recycled or recovered paper.
What advice would you give to other large companies wishing to become more focused on sustainability?
When you make the decision to focus on sustainability, realize that it is a journey. You will need to think broadly about timeframes, payoffs and successes. Start at the top with senior executives engaged in setting the vision and providing support for your initiatives. Use programs such as the AHFA’s EFEC and SBD initiatives to implement sustainability goals and give your program focus. You must also engage enthusiastic internal champions to help promote and implement each segment of your sustainability initiatives.
Ultimately, you must be committed to responsible stewardship of the environment by integrating environmentally sound and sustainable business practices into all of your daily business decisions.
Tune in next week as the winner of the 2009 Sage Award will be announced on December 2 at the AHFA Sustainability Summit in Greensboro, NC. Do you have any questions for the finalist companies?
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