Employees at Renewal by Andersen’s headquarters in Cottage Grove, MN, take protecting the environment seriously! So much so, they’ve formed a volunteer group they call ECO3 Warriors. Their mission: reduce waste, conserve energy and improve the environment.
The five core ECO3 Warriors meet twice a month for an hour. They work on and around the production floor and continually look for ways to reduce waste and/or improve efficiency. They also receive suggestions from co-workers. A recent project redesigned a material sequencing process that resulted in a 24.5-ton annual reduction of cardboard waste. Another project partnered with the neighboring 3M facility 1.5 miles away. Over a 1½-year period, Renewal sent more than 127 tons of sawdust for use as fuel by 3M.
ECO3 Warriors: Denise Filler, Toni Harvey, Justin Kunkel-Smith, Sara Anderson, Amanda Guerin.
“Every project that is completed is another step closer to helping the community and saving the environment,” said Amanda Guerin, site safety coordinator and an ECO3 Warrior. Of course, what companies are learning is that sustainability efforts, like those of Renewal’s ECO3 Warriors, save money as well.
