Thomas announced that it is the first school bus OEM to achieve “Zero-Waste-to-Landfill” operations.
Starting this past January, Thomas no longer makes trips to the local landfill. The company carted its last load in December.
“We are delighted to be starting the new year with a literal ‘clean slate’,” said Kelley Platt, president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses. “At Thomas, we are committed to building quality buses, and because it is part of our leadership mission to do so in an environmentally responsible manner, our sustainability achievement did not just start in 2011.”
In January 2010, Thomas manufacturing facilities became certified in ISO 14001, an internationally-recognized set of standards for environmental performance that goes beyond basic compliance with environmental regulations. The certification was first obtained by the company’s Saf-T-Liner C2 plant, chassis plant and Minotour production line in December 2004.
In 2009, Thomas became a voluntary member of the EPA’s WasteWise program by using a data management and reporting system, member sites collect, organize and analyze their municipal solid waste information, then track waste reduction.
Thomas Built has also provided land to support the installation of 1,690 solar panels, owned and operated by Duke Energy. This Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Field project will produce 389 kilowatts of renewable energy for the Duke Energy Power Grid – enough electricity to power approximately 41 homes. The installation of the panels in High Point began in July of 2010 and went online on December 15, 2010. A second North Carolina Daimler Trucks North America facility will be hosting 1,560 panels later this year.
“Our employees have worked hard to make Zero-Waste-to-Landfill and other facility waste management and environmental advancements a reality,” said Platt. “With our Zero-Waste-to-Landfill facility, solar panels and a growing list of Clean Drive Technologies, our buses are green from the ground up as well as inside and out, making Thomas Built Buses the leading sustainable school bus manufacturer. More reasons we are proud to put our children, and yours, on a Thomas.”
