For Immediate Release - February 11, 2010
Greener Cabling: Siemon's Global Headquarters Goes Zero Landfill
Network infrastructure specialist Siemon has announced that its global headquarters and major manufacturing facility is now a zero-landfill operation. The company is well known for its green credentials, including a 3000 acre tree farm that is operated by the Siemon board. The zero-landfill status is the latest green milestone in the company's progressive approach to environmental responsibility.
According to an extensive ISO-14001 driven internal audit, over 99 per cent of the waste material at Siemon's campus is recycled, reused or repurposed in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Siemon's efficiency and environmental management programmes maintain a 95 per cent recycling rate on all waste material, including manufacturing by-products and office scrap. These ongoing recycling efforts ensured that over 900 tons of waste materials were reused in 2008 alone, the company claims. All remaining non-recyclable items are transported to a local waste-to-energy plant, where they are incinerated under carefully controlled conditions to produce electricity. A small amount of ash, the by-product of the waste-to-energy process, is all that reaches a landfill.
According to Paul Knickerbocker, Siemon's plant engineering and facilities manager, achieving the zero-landfill benchmark was not a function of a single effort, but years of full-scale efficiency and waste management initiatives. "Since 2006, and perhaps even earlier, 97 to 98 per cent of our waste was being repurposed," explained Knickerbocker. "To get beyond 99 per cent, we looked hard at our rubbish and found that with the right recycling programmes, we could divert even more from the waste stream."
Carl Siemon, the company's President and CEO, was quick to point out the employees' role in the zero-landfill achievement. "This is a team effort all the way," he explained. "To make it work, everyone at Siemon has truly stepped up their recycling efforts. While that has paid great dividends here, we also hope it encourages more recycling at home and beyond."
While zero-landfill status is viewed as a progressive and far-reaching environmental achievement, Knickerbocker cautioned that it is only one element of a comprehensive green effort, joining Siemon's implementation of a renewable solar energy programme, forestland conservation efforts and more. "When you have made environmental stewardship a matter of corporate culture for as long as we have, it is hard to look at any one benchmark and say 'we've made it.' We're proud to be zero-landfill, but we can't lose sight of Siemon's other, equally-important green initiatives." he said.
For more information on Siemon's environmental initiatives, visit www.siemon.com/green
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- About Siemon
- Established in 1903, Siemon is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, with global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available. With over 400 patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company's long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.
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