Business Spotlight: The C.A. Lawton Co. is a Green Tier 2 business
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The C.A. Lawton Co. began its Green Tier journey as a public demonstration of commitment to its ‘Beyond Compliance’ initiative in 2013. Since that time the company has embarked on various sustainability efforts and worked at minimizing corporate impact on the environment.
Green Tier, and the philosophy behind it, has guided Lawton to make better choices by diverting waste streams from the landfill, raising environmental awareness through employee training, and encouraging employee participation in community programs, like Adopt-A-Highway. We know our customers care about sustainability and the integrity of their suppliers. We are proud to demonstrate that our performance reinforces their environmental awareness ideals.
The Beyond Compliance initiative has since evolved into Lawton’s ‘Planet, People and then Profits’ (P3) model, which rolled out in early 2020. As Barry Adamski, president of The C.A. Lawton Co. puts it, “We believe in better choices, better business, and a better environment. For example, every day we publish a report to all employees which contains safety, health, and environmental impacts. Each supervisor reviews this with their employees at their daily kickoff meeting. We believe that we need to take care of our planet, our people, and our profit. Without all three, there is a lesser chance of a better future for us and our children’s children. By looking at the longer view and working to do the right things, we believe we can help make the world a better place.”
P3 aligns beautifully with transitioning from Green Tier 1 to Green Tier 2. As a Green Tier 2 participant, the company elevates its commitment to superior environmental performance and closer evaluation of environmental aspects. The ISO 14001:2015 certified management system is the ideal tool to systematically and objectively guide Lawton through this process and expose sustainability opportunities that benefit our communities and our customers.
Finally, Lawton’s management team recognizes that this is not an endeavor that effectively takes place in a vacuum. Successful sustainability efforts require incorporating Lawton’s integrated management system (ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 combined systems), partnering with critical vendor stakeholders, seeking direction from our interested parties group, involving our employees, and petitioning support from regulatory bodies. Together, these resources will direct Lawton to make the best choices available to maximize sustainability in production, allowing the company to produce gray and ductile iron castings that exceed customer expectations.
Lawton is the first foundry and Green Tier business to take advantage of the new air Registration Permit (ROP) exclusively available to Green Tier 2 participants. Lawton made the choice to move from Green Tier 1 status to Tier 2 because it offered Lawton the opportunity to employ the controls of their integrated management system to self-regulate their environmental compliance in harmony with DNR regulations.
Alex Lawton, CEO, cited, “In 2013, we joined Green Tier 1. It began as a demonstration of our pledge to take our business ‘Beyond Compliance’. Now, as we embark on achieving Green Tier 2 status, we have the opportunity to amplify that commitment through the use of a robust, integrated management system credentialing our effort.” Adding “The new Green Tier Registration Permit (ROP-G) facilitates our effort by rewarding businesses with a demonstrated commitment to sustainability with a streamlined and flexible air permit. Benefits of the ROP-G are numerous: The new permit allows Lawton to partner with the department, authorizes compliance flexibility and gives the company agility to modify operations in response to changing customer needs”.