Stego Embarks on Carbon Footprint Project
June 26, 2014 11:43 AM
CHICAGO - Stego Industries, the concrete construction industry leader in below-slab moisture vapor protection, launched an ambitious new company-level initiative Wednesday to eliminate the carbon emissions of its business operations.
The initiative, Stego's Carbon Footprint Project, took another step toward this goal at the American Association of Architects (AIA) National Convention in Chicago this week by purchasing carbon offsets for all of the company's air travel in 2013 -- some 115 metric tonnes -- through the TerraPass Carbon Balanced Business Program.
"Stego has long taken bold steps to lead the construction industry onto a more sustainable path," Stego Industries CEO Paul J. Blasdel said. "Encapsulating our sustainability efforts under the Carbon Footprint Project umbrella sends a message within our company and to our stakeholders that eliminating our carbon emissions is not a side project, it is a corporate priority."
Stego's commitment to a carbon-neutral future began early in the company's history with the establishment of an executive level "Green Team" that convened quarterly to assess the company's progress on sustainability issues within its company and its industry. The team's first major step came with the installation of solar panels at the company headquarters in San Clemente, Calif. in 2010, which have returned more than 4.7 megawatt/hours of electricity back into the electricity grid since their installation.
Moving to the industry it serves with high-performance concrete vapor barriers and installation accessories, Stego served as a Pilot Manufacturer of the Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPD), a customer-led organization committed to the continuous improvement of the building industry's performance through transparency, openness and innovation in the product supply chain. As a pilot project member, Stego collaborated with its suppliers to provide accurate product disclosure, reporting its findings to the HPD Collaborative to help develop an impartial tool for the accurate reporting of product contents and each ingredient's relationship to the bigger picture of human and ecological health.
A member of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Stego has also sponsored the ABC Green Home since the project's inception in Southern California in 2011.The company offers cash incentives to employees interested in replacing their work-use personal vehicles with more fuel-efficient models.
Stego Executives on the company's Green Team have already embarked on new analyses of business operations to offset more carbon emissions, including vehicle travel and business activities in employees' satellite and home offices.
"We owe it to our stakeholders and employees - along with their children and future generations - to find every way forward to a more sustainable future," Blasdel said. "We are determined to lead our industry in every way and to prove that sustainability is not just good for the environment, it is good for our bottom line."
