Sustainability and environmental stewardship are increasingly top of mind in businesses across the globe. Among those embracing these concepts — and innovative technologies — are the recipients of the 34th annual Wisconsin Business Friend of the Environment Awards, which were presented by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce in September.
“The awards recognize … employers are leading the way on environmental innovation and stewardship, not because of government mandates, but because they care for their community, company culture, bottom line and the future of the state,” says Adam Jordahl, WMC’s director of environmental and energy policy.
Northeast Wisconsin was well represented among this year’s award recipients. This includes awards presented to Redline Plastics and Plexus Corp. in the “sustainability” category, to RGL Logistics in the “environmental stewardship” category and to Mercury Marine in the “environmental innovation” category.
Sustainability in action: Redline Plastics
Manitowoc-based Redline Plastics specializes in custom plastic fabrication and manufacturing. Its new 250,000-square-foot facility for rotational molding and manufacturing was designed to be a comfortable environment that was simultaneously energy efficient, says President Nick Murray.
“We thought, ‘Why burn more natural gas to heat the building in winter? Let’s make this more sustainable, which we did with systems to [re-use machine‑generated heat],’” says Murray. “It’s also keeping our employees cool in a traditionally very hot environment. We take a lot of pride in the energy savings to power 2,965 homes per year.”
The energy efficient facility also features LED lighting, which, in combination with the repurposed heat, earned the company the 2023 Focus in Energy Award for reducing its environmental footprint.
The Redline team also launched a comprehensive recycling initiative to repurpose defective plastic parts into reusable materials for rotational molding and vacuum-forming processes, as well as to repurpose defective or internally-generated scrap parts and other materials.
“We’re always striving to be a good steward of what happens at the end of the life cycle,” Murray says, adding that this mindfulness is driven through Redline cultural behaviors, including “Do the Right Thing. Always.,” “Don’t Die. Please.” and “We Are the Face of Redline.”
“Whether it’s [avoiding] sending stuff to a landfill or managing byproducts appropriately, it’s about it being the right thing to do,” he says.
Sustainability in action: Plexus Corp.
Neenah-based Plexus Corp. is a global provider of electronic manufacturing services and solutions with a focus on building products to build a better world. That mission lends itself to a natural and aligned focus on sustainability, says Megan Schleicher, senior director of sustainability and social impact.
“We approach [sustainability] not as something else we have to do, but how we do what we do today differently,” she says. “The best impact we can have is through how we design, manufacture and service these products to be more responsible.”
One example is Plexus’ Bringing Employee Successes Together (BEST) program, a continuous improvement competition that fosters idea generation and empowers team members to think boldly about operational transformation, including environmental sustainability.
“We are [striving] to change mindsets to incorporate these considerations into our everyday, and BEST is a great example of that,” Schleicher says. “We used this competition to encourage innovation through sustainability.”
Employees’ BEST project entries included a facility water-use-reduction effort in a high-risk water location; a reuseable shipping solution that significantly reduces CO2 emissions and costs; water reduction and cost savings plans for a common globally-used manufacturing process; and an HVAC solution to lower energy use. Collectively, projects provide cost savings while reducing emissions, waste and water usage. Three years ago, Plexus added environmental sustainability as a BEST category and added environmental impact to the scoring criteria across all categories.
“We recognize you can’t just innovate for the sake of innovation. You have to innovate responsibly and recognize the impact on the environment,” Schleicher says. “There are also benefits of authentically being in this for the long game. Employees want to align with a value proposition that includes sustainability.”
Environmental stewardship in action: RGL Logistics
While Carol Jamrosz, vice president of corporate risk at Green Bay-based RGL Logistics, is creating a formal Environmental, Social and Governance Plan for the company, she says environmental stewardship has been evident in the 121-year-old business’ actions, core values and operational ethos.
“As I’ve [compiled] our history, I have learned a lot about how our founding fathers were very much about sustainability and [asking], ‘What are we doing now to make us more sustainable in the future?’” Jamrosz says. “It’s in our core.”
One example has been incorporating LED lighting into 3.5 million feet of space in 27 warehouse facilities, one warehouse at a time; Jamrosz says the practice lowers energy consumption as well as reduces waste and maintenance needs.
“You can’t argue with the cost savings, but it’s also about looking at the quality of lighting for the benefit of our teammates,” she says.
Another is the transition from propane lifts to electric lifts, reducing emissions, lowering the company’s carbon footprint, improving air quality, lowering noise levels and being more energy efficient. Recycling is a priority as well, Jamrosz says.
“A lot of our recycling measures were started in a grassroots way, but now there is leadership support and it’s part of our strategic plan,” she says. “In early 2024, we created a recycling team at each of our facilities, and we get together every six weeks to determine how we are going to recycle more and put less in the landfill.”
A new facility meant intentionally planting many trees, and there is a company-wide emphasis on incorporating into new properties energy-efficient designs and technologies by using sustainable building materials, renewable energy sources, natural lighting, water conservation, smart HVAC systems and more.
Jamrosz says a stewardship mindset extends outside of RGL’s properties and into the community. Not only does RGL store build materials for Habitat for Humanity, but the company encourages its 150 employees to participate in neighborhood cleanups and other environmentally-focused efforts with their dedicated volunteer time.
“This is part of the culture,” she says. “We believe in taking care of our employees, the business, our customers and the environment in a way that leaves resources for the future.”
