Environmental protection, workplace wellness, and safety are integral to Mack’s success. The company’s Environmental Policy is based on compliance, risk reduction and prevention, resource management, and communication. We also subscribe to an Environmental Purchasing Policy that gives preference to suppliers whose products have environmentally friendly attributes.
To reinforce these policies, Mack has developed an environmental management system that systematically and comprehensively tracks and reduces environmental impacts in all business operations. See below to see Mack’s specific goals for FY23 in the areas of energy conservation, waste reduction, land preservation & management, and environmental education & awareness.
Energy Conservation
1. Retubed primary boiler at East Arlington to reduce heat energy loss.
2. Continue replacing fluorescent lighting fixtures with LEDs to reduce energy consumption.
3. Currently in process at East Arlington are projects to conduct an air leak survey, reducing heating oil reliance by introducing spot propane in select areas and a steam trap audit.
4. Cavendish is working with Living Buildings to identify ways to reduce the amount of energy required to heat the building, including the energy source. The plant also is looking into replacing single-pane windows to improve thermal insulation and plans to increase the thickness of insulation on the second floor roof to improve the thermal barrier.
5. The Cavendish Facilities Maintenance team has repaired 8 leaking sections in its boiler steam system, improving overall efficiency.
6. Insource calibration of hard gaging to reduce fuel consumption in Metrology.
Resource Conservation
1. Control recyclable materials and insure nothing gets to land fill that has a viable recycling outlet, including:
- Resin: 724,440 lbs.
- Metal: 745,120 lbs.
- Gaylord: 95,600 lbs.
- Corrugate: Approx. 252,000 lbs.
2. Maximize the purchases of recycled office supplies (MRO) through vendor assignments.
- Work with Staples to create a reporting metric to track opportunities and executed material purchases that have maximum recycles content.
3. Adopt green business practices.
- Utilize environmentally friendly business practices such as:
- working from home
- carpooling
- web/teleconferencing
- minimizing the use of paper
- leveraging green hotel policies, such as not washing linens or towels, when we travel
4. Coffee ground recycling program
- Used Grounds to Grow On coffee ground recycling program through Keurig. A total of 179 lbs. of material was recycled in FY23.
5. Cavendish currently is focusing on reducing molding scrap to minimize waste.
6. Reduce reliance on paper processes in Human Resources by guiding employees to choose paperless elections and online benefits enrollment.
7. Insource calibration of hard gaging to reduce packaging material usage in Metrology.
8. Eliminate printing and issuance of hardcopy work instructions for Tulip-based manufacturing processes.
Environmental Management, Education, & Awareness
1. Educate external audiences re Mack’s designation as VT Environmental Leader
- Update plan with FY23 green goals
- Add current goals to Sustainable Manufacturing section of website
- Communicate Mack’s environmental achievements through appropriate media outlets
