For us it is important that we continue to improve our environmental performance at all of our manufacturing plants in the US and in Mexico. Because of this, we committed to and achieved ISO 14001 certification at every one of our plants. ISO 14001 is the most commonly used framework for an Environmental Management System (EMS), designed to promote and encourage superior environmental performance. The voluntary program promotes pollution prevention and innovative approaches to meet and go beyond regulatory requirements. While we have a large impact by certifying our own facilities, we know that the impact is even greater if we get our suppliers involved, and it is required that all DTNA suppliers be ISO 14001 certified by the end of 2018.
There are many ways to improve environmental performance, and we found that reducing the waste from our manufacturing plants was one where we could have an impact - a very big impact. And we didn’t just reduce our waste, we completely eliminated sending any waste to the landfill from any of our manufacturing plants! Starting with our Freightliner Custom Chassis plant, which achieved this in 2009, all of our plants have worked tirelessly to eliminate any waste going to the landfill and all of our plants achieved this by 2016. This was by no means a small feat, and it required coordination and cooperation from all groups in every plant to reduce, reuse, and recycle to meet our goal.
It takes a lot of energy to build a commercial vehicle, and we are constantly looking to improve our energy efficiency to positively impact the environment and our bottom line. The Energy Team is a dedicated group of employees that perform ongoing energy projects across our plants and facilities, targeting energy reductions throughout our heating, cooling, lighting, compressed air and process equipment systems. In addition, we are always looking for opportunities to increase our percentage of renewable energy to use green fuel where possible.
Our commitment to improving energy efficiency is showcased by our Detroit manufacturing plant. In December of 2014, Detroit became ISO 50001 certified. This allowed us to set clear energy goals and track our progress toward these goals. But that wasn’t enough: we decided to take it one step further and achieve Superior Energy Performance (SEP) “Platinum” certification through the U.S. Department of Energy, which requires a third party to verify the results. Over a period of 10 years from 2004 to 2014, we reduced our energy usage by 32.49 percent! And that includes a 93 percent increase in production! If you want to learn more, please check out this highlight from the U.S. Department of Energy.
LEARN MORESince 2014, we have had a dedicated team working to reduce both the use of expendable packaging and the distance parts travel to our production plants. This has an overwhelmingly positive impact on the environment: it has enabled us to decrease waste by over 610,000 cardboard boxes and 230,000 wooden pallets per year, and it helped us reduce annual emissions of CO2 by over 18 million pounds! If you would like to learn more, you can read a recent blog article by our director of supplier management here.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SUPPLY CHAINOur facilities demonstrate our commitment to the environment. Nowhere is this more evident than our new headquarters building in Portland, Oregon. Completed in 2016, we achieved the highest environmental recognition available in building design: LEED Platinum certification. This certification from the U.S. Green Building Council requires a focus on energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor occupant health, and overall green construction. Achieving Platinum puts our building in the top 7 percent of LEED buildings worldwide! Highlights of the building include: onsite renewable energy, radiant heating and cooling that uses one-third the energy of standard systems, 100 percent filtered outdoor air circulated indoors, and a public greenway trail, to name just a few. To learn more check out our recent blog post including a backgrounder on specific details.
LEARN MORE ABOUT LEED PLATINUM CERTIFICATION