MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.—Walman Optical has announced goals for its 2009 sustainability projects, programs through which the company plans to reduce its carbon footprint by decreasing its overall energy consumption by 20 percent and converting 30 percent of its energy consumption to renewable energy sources by the end of 2009.

 
Marty Bassett,
Walman Optical
Marty Bassett, Walman’s president and CEO, stated, “It is in all of our best interests for companies to become more environmentally sensitive. We firmly believe conservation efforts that reduce waste and conserve energy have significant long-term benefits for the country and our environment.”

Walman defines the goals as “taking the lead in reducing carbon emissions while enhancing the bottom line.”

Walman’s Project Team coordinating this initiative has broadly defined the term “energy.” Under this broad definition, eight expense categories have been specifically singled out for monitoring and reduction. These targeted expense categories include electricity, natural gas, water/sewer, waste collection, shipping & delivery, air travel, fleet gasoline and product packaging. The company established prior year baselines in both units and dollars for these various expense categories and will be utilizing these baselines to quantify their progress.

Seemingly minor conservation efforts have offered significant results, a company statement said. The double-sided printing of job tickets will reduce paper consumption by 750,000 sheets per year, which eventually would become waste. Cardboard cartons are now being recycled, substantially reducing landfill trash. Simply repairing leaking water fixtures will reduce water consumption by tens of thousands of gallons annually.

Should these conservation goals be met, the company anticipates using 44,000 fewer gallons of gasoline, eliminating 21,600 cubic feet of trash, reducing electricity usage by a minimum of 1.1 million Kilowatt hours and reducing natural gas consumption by over 3.3 million cubic feet. These examples highlight the positive impact these initiatives have not only in energy conservation but in reducing our “carbon footprint” on our environment as well, said a statement from the company.