Thomas Built Buses was recognized on Feb. 8 by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for its sustainability efforts that include achieving a goal of zero waste-to-landfill at its Saf-T-Liner C2 plant in High Point, N.C.
Last April, Thomas became the first school bus manufacturer to be certified as a zero-waste-to-landfill operation. As a result, the state agency deemed Thomas a 2011 Environmental Steward, an organization that has demonstrated environmental leadership through its commitment to exemplary environmental performance beyond what is required by regulation.
As an environmental steward, Thomas commits to reporting annually on its environmental performance. The bus manufacturer is the 16th facility in the state that has achieved this recognition.
“You’re in a very rare group of companies to see that vision and have turned it into a business model,” said DENR Secretary Dee Freeman, a member of Gov. Beverly Purdue’s cabinent, at a presentation held at the High Point facility where the Saf-T-Liner C2 model is manufactured. Like many others who grew up in North Carolina, Freeman told a gathering of reporters and Thomas employees he rode in one of the company’s school buses when he was a young student.
Freeman added, “My wish is that most companies in North Carolina… that they follow the model of Thomas and other stewards.”
In the fall of 2007, Thomas Built Buses took on the challenge led by its parent company Daimler to achieve the zero waste-to-landfill goal. In 2006, the bus manufacturer was sending about 32 tons of waste to the landfill every day. A lot has changed since then.
The company began to integrate environmental management into its core business operations through internal communication of environmental issues to its employees and incorporating lean practices. Other environmental accomplishments include creative partnerships to bring solar technology to the community, a 24-percent decrease in energy usage and a 42-percent decrease in its water consumption over the last five years.
Kelley Platt, president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses, said the company is honored to be recognized as an environmental steward, and that its commitment to the environment is more than just a moment in time.
“We are good stewards of the children who are transported each day,” she said. “We know how we build is just as important as what we build.”
