U.K.-based JCB Inc. has long been known in the United Kingdom as a leader in sustainability. Recent European successes include a 23 percent reduction in direct carbon emissions since 2007 and a 16 percent improvement in fuel consumption from its new backhoe loader model.
Closer to home, the company’s North American headquarters in Pooler has partnered with Nexeo Solutions LLC, a global leader in the distribution of chemicals, plastics, composites and environmental services, to create and carry out a sustainability program working toward zero-percent landfill waste.
As a manufacturer of heavy equipment, JCB divides the waste it creates into six categories: metals, cardboard, plastic, wood, food and landfill trash. Prior to launching the sustainability program in 2008, 100-percent of the waste JCB’s Pooler location generated ended up in local landfills.
As of March 2013, that number had been reduced to 10 percent — a 90-percent reduction.
To create that kind of success, JCB implemented a three-step process to reduce its waste stream. The company:
• Created a new recycling method that allowed JCB to continue the manufacturing process while improving recycling efficiencies.
• Set up a vendor supply plan to manage the new recycling streams.
• Implemented the new process and ensured that the intended recycling efficiencies worked with the current production flow.
Roger Myerly, JCB’s maintenance and site services manager, worked closely with Nexeo Solutions representatives to institute the recycling process.
“The process of eliminating our waste stream has been eye-opening,” he said. “The fact that we have been able to realize a 90 percent reduction in waste in less than five years by using these new processes is a point of pride for JCB.
“I look forward to exploring new ways to continue reducing the waste stream.”
As a founding partner of VIRTUES — Vertical Integration of Research, Technical, Undergraduate and Graduate Education for Sustainability — Myerly said he is taking what he’s learned from JCB’s success and partnering with other organizations to spread sustainability best practices throughout the state.
The group applied for and received a $43,700 grant to host a series of sustainability workshops across Georgia during 2013. These workshops will produce an educational “roadmap” to create a workforce that’s better able to integrate sustainable plans and processes in the future, he said.
“With these workshops, the VIRTUES team will be able to help both private and public sector employers determine their present and future workplace needs when it comes to sustainable skills,” Myerly said. “We’re hoping to build a bridge between the sustainability principles currently taught in Georgia colleges and universities and the realities of day-to-day operations in workplaces statewide. In this way, the VIRTUES program will better prepare our state for the next industrial revolution.”
JCB and Nexeo also have found ways to turn the sustainability program into a revenue stream by partnering with recycling and repurposing companies in the area.
In addition to achieving a substantial reduction in landfill waste, the sustainability program pays for itself and still returns a sizable monthly rebate check
“As a manufacturer, we have a duty to both the environment and to the communities around us to take care of our waste in a responsible manner,” said John Patterson, chairman and CEO of JCB Inc.
“We see the investment in the sustainability program as money spent to ensure the footprint JCB leaves on the environment is as non-invasive as possible.”
ABOUT JCB
JCB, the world’s third largest construction equipment brand, has 22 plants on four continents: 11 in the U.K., six in India and others in Brazil, the USA, China, Germany and France. JCB employs more than 10,000 people worldwide.
Privately owned by the Bamford family and headed globally by Sir Anthony Bamford, JCB manufactures more than 300 different machines and employs more than 10,000 people. For more information, go to www.jcb.com.
ABOUT NEXEO SOLUTIONS
Nexeo Solutions is one of the largest global chemical distributors with a centralized business model, providing broad logistics capabilities, in-depth market knowledge and dedicated technical expertise.
As a private company employing more than 2,300 employees, Nexeo has operations across the United States and Canada, Europe and Asia. For more information, go to www.nexeosolutions.com.