Molding a More Sustainable Future
Sustainability may be at the forefront of our industry now, but we’ve always known the value of applying an environmental lens to the work we do. Our decades-long commitment to monitoring environmental impact and utilizing sustainable alternatives led us to invest in ways to minimize energy output, resource consumption and waste byproducts generated from the molding process. These actions ensure we’re doing our part to lead our customers—and the industry—forward in promoting long-term sustainable manufacturing.
Our Commitment to Sustainability in Plastics
Designing for sustainability presents itself in three distinct ways.
Collaborative solutions
- Understand customer goals and recommend sustainable options to help meet green initiatives.
Investments in education
- Proactively educate on the benefits of plastics, grounded in substantiated research.
Proactive solutions
- Our Sustainability Council continuously evaluates internal processes and procedures for optimization.
Introducing:
EVCO’s New Sustainability Council
Lead with Strategy
We were “going green” before the phrase was mainstream, but through the creation of our new cross-functional Sustainability Council, we’ll be able to more strategically plan, monitor and innovate around the critical role EVCO plays in assisting customers in meeting their green sustainability goals, as well our own.
Build on a Strong Foundation with Data
In order to know where we should start, we need to establish our baseline. We submitted the EcoVadis assessment, which will benchmark our environmental performance and illustrate our strengths and areas for improvement. With these learnings, our council will prioritize where we should focus our efforts, the steps to accomplish our sustainability goals and the key performance indicators that will help us track our progress.
Awarding Sustainability Efforts
Sustainability awards serve as a testament to the efforts employees enact and carry out companywide to help ensure we’re living up to our commitment of environmental and social responsibility in the plastics industry.
EcoVadis is a globally renowned company that assesses a business’s sustainability efforts across four key categories: environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. A through-line in these categories is also sustainability through ethical practices and performance because while sustainability is important, it can’t be at the expense of other people or other areas of business.
On assessment of these categories, EVCO was recently awarded the Fast Mover badge for quickly improving our sustainability efforts and outputs in these areas since our last review. This recognizes the rigorous improvements EVCO has implemented in the last year and further showcases our commitment to sustainability.
Boosting Sustainability Research at the Academic Level
EVCO donated $100,000 to the University of Wisconsin-Stout’s plastics engineering program to amplify research efforts that focus on improving sustainability in the plastics industry. Students working on their capstone projects used the money toward conducting sustainability research and acquiring the necessary materials for their projects. To further support the university, EVCO staff provided technical support to the research students throughout the year.
EVCO’s History with Sustainability
We planted our sustainable roots in the 1980s and have continued to grow ever since.
1980s
Saved 1 million pounds of plastic from thinwalling a water carafe
1990s
Began investing in electric and servo hydraulic machines (now comprising 99% of our 260 molding machines)
Today
Review all customer projects for sustainable manufacturing (e.g., material choice, lightweighting)
Shining a Spotlight on Sustainability
“By formalizing our sustainability initiatives, we help fulfill our responsibility to protect the planet and create opportunities for long-term success. Digging deeper into sustainable practices will help drive innovation, enhance efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint.”
Dale Evans