Orbus Exhibit & Display Group®, one of North America’s leading trade suppliers and manufacturers of display, exhibit and event solutions announces its constant environmental protection and recycling efforts in 2016 prevented 582 tons of materials from ending up in landfills and more.
Orbus’ two manufacturing and distribution facilities are certified under the ISO 14001:2004 standard, which provides guidelines to establish and maintain an environmental management system through minimizing harmful effects on the environment caused by business activities and achieving continual improvement of environmental performance. Orbus employees are encouraged daily to reduce waste headed to landfills. A new Waste Champions team was introduced in 2017 to help reduce electrical and natural gas usage and create more efficient processes for reducing waste.
Orbus follows strict guidelines in daily operations. In 2016, the company’s recycling efforts resulted in the recycling of 555,000 lbs. of cardboard, 80,000 lbs. of aluminum, 397,500 lbs. of fabric and 132,800 lbs. of plastic. Recycling bins in employee lunch rooms, cubicles and offices, along with fabric, plastic and paper recycling programs in the warehouses encourage and enable such results.
In addition, the company repurposed scrap wood and fabric. It donated wood to local fire departments for training efforts and to craftsmen to create furniture, and donated three truckloads of scrap fabric to Matthew 25: Ministries. The donated fabric is used in vocational schools, organizations that encourage women to create clothing sold for income, and in community groups to create blankets, curtains and more. Orbus’ recycling and repurposing efforts reduced the amount of waste sent to landfills from both locations by more than 9% over 2015 numbers.
Orbus’ recycling efforts include large bins throughout the manufacturing and production facility for recycling cardboard, paper, fabric, plastic and metal. Donated fabric is given to organizations to be turned into clothing and other products, and scrap wood has been repurposed into new furniture.
Orbus also takes part in UPS’s Carbon Neutral Shipping program, which mitigated 324.69 metric tons of CO2. The mitigated CO2 is turned into carbon credits by UPS, which are then donated to environmentally responsible programs such as the Garcia River Forest and the Big River and Salmon Creek forests in California. Orbus also partners with ComEd to reduce energy use, taking steps such as installing efficient lighting and water heating, and other energy management devices.
“One of Orbus’ core values is to protect and preserve the environment,” said Jim Concannon, Operations Manager. “We are proud to continuously improve our recycling and repurposing efforts, each year watching the amount of materials that we divert from landfills grow, and becoming a partner in environmentally responsible programs to support natural resources.”