How “Green” is your company? (Environmental stewardship at Lawton)

Many organizations pay lip service to the ideas of sustainability and stewardship of the environment. But The C.A. Lawton Co. takes it quite seriously – so much so that we integrate it into our strategic and economic objectives.

When we plan for the future, we use an environmental management system, which enables us to measure the estimated ecological impact of our actions. We seek to reduce waste, re-use or recycle materials and work to minimize energy consumption in all areas of our operations. We also select and use materials from suppliers that are environmentally aware in their business activities.

In addition, we believe environmental responsibility goes beyond our campus into the community. That’s why we educate our employees about good environmental practices at home and in the workplace.

Here are three of Lawton’s notable environmental stewardship activities:

Recycling event

On June 8th we offered our third free recycling event to employees for e-waste, universal waste, and confidential document shredding during the company training day and picnic. We recycled and saved from the landfill 2,452 lbs. of e-waste, plus fluorescent tubes, batteries and paper documents. That’s almost 50% more than last year. Congratulations to Lawton employees on your support of this worthy cause!

Adopt-a-Highway program

Lawton has participated in the Wisconsin Adopt-a-Highway program since 2014. This program, run by the Wisconsin DOT, aims to:

• Reduce litter along Wisconsin’s highways,
• Build statewide support for its anti-litter and highway beautification programs, and
• Enhance the environment and beautify Wisconsin’s roadsides.

Our team is responsible for a two-mile segment of State Highway 96 in Greenleaf, Wisconsin, just a few miles from our facility in De Pere. Our employees pick up litter along this section of highway three times per year.

Green Masters program

The C.A. Lawton Co. is also a member of The Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council, a network of Wisconsin businesses and organizations that are interested in, or actively responding to, the challenge of sustainability. The Council’s Green Masters program provides us with a set of benchmarks we can use to compare our sustainability performance to other foundries, machine shops, and manufacturers around the state.

Green Tier

Green Tier is a voluntary program run by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources that recognizes and rewards environmental performance “that voluntarily exceeds legal requirements related to health, safety and the environment resulting in continuous improvement in this state’s environment, economy, and quality of life.” Participating companies track their environmental activities in an environmental management system (EMS).

Lawton’s EMS helps us understand our environmental impacts and systematically operate more efficiently. It helps us reduce energy usage, minimize waste and reduce pollution. Proactively addressing environmental impacts helps Lawton to protect public health and Wisconsin’s natural resources, find and utilize the most cost-effective corrective measures and avoid costly non-compliance fees.

A comprehensive review of our environmental impacts can also lead us to innovative ways to improve conditions for our employees, strengthen our relationships with our community, impress existing clients and attract new ones.