Doing Our Part to Save the Planet

1. Water Bottle Filler

Our newly installed surface-mounted water dispenser lets employees fill their own reusable bottles with chilled, filtered, water—hands free! The touchless sensor-activated bottle filler features a Green Ticker™ that counts each 20-oz. water bottle it saves from waste. Users enjoy thirst-quenching water while also knowing they are preventing another plastic water bottle from possibly ending up in a landfill, where it can take hundreds of years to completely decompose.

2. Reuse, Recycle

However, because plastic water bottles are still used frequently, we recycle them, along with waste paper, aluminum cans, brass keys and hardware, in appropriate, easily accessible recycling bins. Cardboard boxes and packaging materials are saved for reuse in our Main Office shipping department. At our Door Division, steel scraps, from fabricating steel doors and frames, get tossed into 55-gallon drums for pickup by a metal recycling company. Although most shipping pallets are reused, excess pallets and wood door scraps are set aside for repurposing by specialty wood recyclers.

3. Reduce

And, to lessen the amount of paper that is recycled, we long ago initiated processes, like electronic invoicing and payment solutions, that reduce our dependence on printed and faxed documents.

4. LED Lights

Our immense Door Division facility was completely gutted and remodeled prior to our move into it in 2016. Installing LED lighting throughout the office, warehouse, and fabrication spaces was one of many eco-friendly redesign decisions. Motion-activated lights save power when areas are not actively being used.

5. Lower Energy Usage

More recent remodeling at our Main Office included replacing old incandescent lighting with new LED fixtures. It has been proven that installing high quality LED lights not only reduces energy bills by 70 to 90 percent, but also creates a healthier work environment than older, dimmer, heat-producing lights.

6. Glass Walls Allow Natural Light Throughout Office Spaces

Remodeling at both Anderson Lock locations also incorporated glass walls in office areas. In addition to the pleasing interior design aesthetics, glass walls and partitions allow natural light to flow through, creating a cycle of well-being that enhances the overall atmosphere of the workplace. Surveys have shown that employees who use technology to get their work done desire “a visual break such as taking a walk or looking through unobstructed windows to an outside view.”

7. Plant a Tree to Help Save the Earth

Planting a tree is one of the simplest ways to help save the Earth. In addition to the beauty they provide, trees filter air, thus reducing ozone pollution. Trees lessen runoff and erosion, give us oxygen, provide shade, and create a quieter environment. Cathryn and Devin Wascher planted a tree when our Door Division expanded from our Schaumburg location to Elk Grove. Now, that tree is as tall as Cathryn. Additionally, Anderson Lock has always been good stewards of the trees, flowering trees, plants and landscaping surrounding our facilities.

8. Responsibly Managed Sources

Anderson Lock is audited annually by Scientific Certification Systems® (SCS®), a leading provider of Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) Chain-of-Custody (COC) certifications. The COC process ensures the consumer that FSC-certified products they come from responsibly managed sources. “FSC” is carefully noted on our estimates, orders and invoices. When FSC-certified commercial wood doors are received at our Door Division they are labeled “FSC-COC” and segregated from other wood door inventory until being delivered to our customers.

We are also committed to reducing the energy our customers’ facilities consume by helping find doors and security door hardware that meets LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] green building standards.

9. Fuel-Efficient Vehicles

Anderson Lock strives to reduce our company’s carbon footprint by investing in newer, smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, like Ford C-Max Hybrids, for hardware sales representatives, lock techs and estimators. Retiring older gas-guzzling models represents another energy-efficient upgrade.

10. Impacting the Planet’s Carbon Footprint

Last, but not least, Anderson Lock boasts of one hardy local employee who walks to and from work most days throughout the year. One study concluded that walking 1.5 miles releases 75% less greenhouse gas than would be produced by driving the same distance.

Kudos to John Didier for impacting the planet’s carbon footprint with his footprints in Des Plaines!