Gaining ground on green

Nine New North companies have been recognized by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for their environmental innovation with entry into the Green Tier Program. Green Tier is a collaborative system of contracts and charters crafted jointly by participating businesses and the DNR. The contracts and charters streamline environmental requirements and encourage the use of new environmental technologies.

New inductees include: The Boldt Co. and Casaloma Development Corp. of Appleton; Genmar Yacht Group of Pulaski; Holsum Dairies LLC of Hilbert; Kimberly-Clark Corp. of Neenah; MEGTEC Systems of De Pere; Professional Plating Inc. of Brillion; Ripon Printers of Ripon; and Winsert Inc., of Marinette.

MEGTEC is the first New North company to receive Tier 2 status and is one of only two in the state. Boldt is the first general contractor to join the program.

Acceptance into the Green Tier program is one of several environmental and economic success stories for Winsert, including ISO 140001 certification since 2003. Winsert employs about 150 people and manufactures valve seat inserts and other heat and wear-resistant products for combustion engines and turbines, as well as for the food and beverage industry and the pharmaceutical industry. Many of the company’s production processes reuse or recycle waste. At one time, Wisert generated more than 10,000 pounds of hazardous waste per year. New equipment being installed will eliminate all hazardous waste and wastewater discharges.

“Winsert has always strived for continuous improvement in all of our processes with the environment being a priority,” says Paul Lemery, Winsert’s vice president of administration. “Years ago that meant simply meeting environmental regulations, whereas now our goals have gotten much bigger and we keep attaining and surpassing them.”

Ripon Printers serves small- to mid-sized catalog marketers and publishers, producing catalogs and directories as well as manuals and soft-cover educational products. Founded in 1962 with just 13 employees, Ripon now employs more than 330 and is equipped with technologies from pre-media through fulfillment and distribution.

The company already has exceeded compliance with environmental laws in numerous areas. It has reduced energy consumption by upgrading lighting fixtures and saved 1 million kilowatt hours of energy by installing a system limiting air conditioning. Ripon Printers annually recycles 10 million pounds of paper, 520,000 pounds of cardboard, 60,000 pounds of plastic and 65,000 pounds of aluminum.

As a Green Tier participant, Ripon Printers will reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, pursue further reductions in energy use and water use, as well as strive for certification by the Forest Stewardship Council to ensure their paper products come from well managed forests.

“Continuous improvement and waste minimization efforts are focal points of our business,” says Jeff Cottrell, project engineer at Ripon Printers. “We will strive to continually improve our environmental performance and work toward becoming a more sustainable printer.”

The Boldt Company makes a concerted effort to “walk the talk” when it comes to minimizing its impact on the environment. “Our intent is to engage a significant number of our employees to continually find ways to improve our environmental footprint,” notes CEO Tom Boldt. “While Green Tier is a voluntary program, our commitment is serious. We believe Green Tier will make an impact and will prove that being sensitive to the land and our environment can be a rewarding and sustainable pursuit.”

In 2004, Gov. Jim Doyle signed Green Tier into law to encourage a collaborative approach to environmental performance between the DNR and Wisconsin businesses. Currently, the DNR has entered into five charters, two Tier 2 contracts and 23 Tier 1 (with a total of 33 facilities) agreements with companies around the state.