Stanley Engineered Fastening says their Decorah plant is one of the leaders in the company's global sustainability initiative

Stanley Engineered Fastening and its parent company Stanley Black & Decker have made a pledge that their corporate offices, distribution centers and manufacturing facilities around the world will operate carbon positive by 2030.

Company officials say the Stanley Engineered Fastening facility in Decorah has emerged as a leader in the company's global sustainability initiative.

The plant has invested in renewable electricity, water conservation and recycling initiatives to meet corporate sustainability goals over the past two years.

Last month the plant installed a high-volume parts washer manufactured by Gosiger to reduce the facility's water consumption by 50 percent.

Late last year the plant purchased 9,410 MWh of Green-e® certified renewable energy certificates to match 100 percent of their 2019 electricity load.  The effort is the environmental equivalent of taking over 1,500 cars off the road for one year.

In 2017, the plant started converting to LED lighting fixtures to lower its energy consumption.

"The Decorah facility used 1,677,900 kWh of electricity in 2016, and in 2018 that number dropped to 940,138 kWh, thanks to a series of energy efficiency upgrades," said Stanley Engineered Fastening Decorah EHS Manager Cody Webb, adding, "About 80 percent of our facility uses LED lighting to-date, and plans are in place to complete the remaining LED upgrades in 2019."

The Decorah plant is also working on diverting waste from the Winneshiek County Landfill.  The "Zero Waste" initiative encourages employees to be good environmental stewards by eliminating waste and by recycling as many items as possible.

"The Decorah facility plans to reach corporate's renewable energy goal well ahead of the 2030 target, and we will not stop there," said Stanley Engineered Fastening Decorah Director of Operation Scott Milburn.  "We are also exploring the feasibility of adding solar panels or wind turbines to the site down the road," he adds.

To learn more about the Stanley Black & Decker corporate sustainability initiative, visit www.stanleyblackanddecker.com/social-responsibility/create-more-sustainable-world