Employees at SC Johnson's Mijdrecht manufacturing plant in the Netherlands have planted a hectare of trees around the site each year for the past seven years. It is one element of the family owned company's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from worldwide manufacturing by 48% by 2016, against a 2000 baseline.
As well as the tree cultivation project, the maker of Glade, Pledge, Duck and Mr Muscle has put in place a range of energy and carbon management measures at Europlant – its largest European manufacturing hub.
The company has installed an 80-metre wind turbine that supplies 50% of the site's annual electricity needs, and has built an electric train and track – powered by the wind turbine – to transport goods and raw materials around the site.
It has also made room for a packaging supplier to operate at the Mijdrecht site so that packaging is made locally and transported to the warehouse via the electric train – reducing supply chain emissions.
In addition, a switch to compressed gas technology for Glade® aerosol products has resulted in a 10 tonne reduction in liquid petroleum gas from the manufacturing process, making SC Johnson Europe's largest supplier of aerosol products using this technology.
At Europlant – which produces air fragrances and pest control products – wind-generated electricity has eliminated 2,100 tonnes of green house gas emissions annually, according to the company. The site has also achieved zero waste to landfill.
The initiatives support SC Johnson's five-year global sustainability strategy, which also includes a goal to source 33% of its energy from renewable sources by 2016.
Lynn Beavis is part of the wordworks network
The Guardian Sustainable Business Sustainability Case Studies contain articles on all the initiatives that met the criteria for the GSB Awards.
