1998 Award Winners

• Anagram International, Inc.
• The IBM Server Product Group
• LHB Engineers and Architects
• Liberty Paper, Inc.
• Steele County Environmental Services: Green Source 2020
• Judges

Anagram International, Inc.

Anagram International, Inc. designs and manufactures products made of synthetically based film including metalized balloons, self sealing valves, consumer gift packaging and industrial packaging. The company employs approximately 400 people, and operations run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Operations include design, die cutting, extruding, printing, fabricating and assembly.

Pollution prevention is an important component of quality and continuous improvement efforts. Suggestions from employees and recommendations from a Minnesota Technical Assistance Program intern have helped to make significant reductions of waste.

The Anagram Excellence Program encourages employees to submit suggestions for improvements which has meant savings of over $100,000. As a result, waste has been reduced by 30 percent in printing operations. Press cleaning modifications resulted in reductions of solvent waste by 120 drums per year. Ink purchasing has been reduced through ink recovery. Solvent for thinning ink is reused and recycled. Anagram is working with the Dupont Ducare Program to switch from a developer containing hydroquione to a rapid access recyclable developer. Floor cleaners and primers are water (rather than solvent) based.

The operation departments have achieved substantial reductions in extrusion, printing, slitting and fabrication wastes. Gaylords are reused for storing and shipping. They switched from poly bags to paper bags to package balloons. High-density polyethylene core plugs and wooden end boards are reused.

Anagram has also accomplished numerous other internal pollution prevention and waste reduction measures. By including pollution prevention in their continuous improvement efforts, Anagram has been able to involve all employees from every department. Pollution prevention is an integral part of quality efforts. There are two main programs through which Anagram employees help make pollution prevention happen: Anagram Excellence Program and Annual Objectives. Together these programs are comprehensive, laudable and will help Anagram continue to make further reductions.

The IBM Server Product Group:
Environmentally Conscious Products Program

The IBM Server Product Group is responsible for three major IBM computing platforms – the AS/400e series, the RS/6000, and the System 390 – from product conception through manufacturing to eventual product disposal. The Server Product Group also provides support for the IBM Network Station product line. Deep Blue, the world champion IBM chess-playing computer, is an example of such a system.

In the past IBM has focused on pollution prevention at the manufacturing process level. But as part of the evolution of IBM's pollution prevention and resource conservation efforts, IBM began to focus on the environmental stewardship of its products. The implementation of design for the environment (DfE) concepts into product development has been a new and challenging endeavor for both product development and environmental engineers.

In 1992, following a series of IBM DfE task force meetings, the product development organization in Rochester formed the Server Group Environmentally Conscious Product (ECP) Design Program and Team. This program is centralized at the Rochester development and manufacturing facility with key team members at other locations.

The primary design objectives of the Server Group ECP Design Program and Team are to:

• Increase energy efficiency of products.
• Develop and manufacture products that use materials with recycled content.
• Reduce the use of hazardous materials.
• Develop and manufacture products for end-of-life disassembly, recycling or reuse.

Accomplishments of this program have included eliminating ozone-depleting chemicals in worldwide operations, eliminating polybrominated diphenyl ethers or oxides as flame retardants, requiring that suppliers avoid use of multiple toxic chemicals, and reducing VOC emissions through the use of powder paints.

Combining these accomplishments with IBM's 1997 ISO 14001 certification, we can look to this Rochester industry for continuing leadership and innovation toward DfE and pollution prevention in manufacturing technology.

LHB Engineers and Architects

It was a personal commitment by architect, Rick Carter and interior designer, Rachelle Schoessler Lynn, that initiated LHB's practice of healthy building design. They saw that as professional design consultants, they were in a powerful position to protect the environment and save precious resources. They began by researching healthy building design techniques and compiled a library of environmentally friendly construction materials.

LHB's healthy building design incorporates three elements into the designs of renovations or new structures – energy efficiency, resource efficiency and indoor air quality.

• Energy efficiency stresses the use of daylighting techniques, better insulation, energy conservation and the use of renewable energy sources.
• Resource efficiency includes many aspects, such as the reuse of existing structures, using salvaged materials, specifying the use of recycled and recyclable materials, building the same square footage with less materials, designing for flexibility to lengthen the life of a structure, and reducing the waste associated with construction. Another aspect is designing the building for de-construction. If it must be demolished, materials are easily recovered and reused.
• Indoor air quality is the practice of designing healthy interior spaces by providing for proper ventilation, moisture control and the elimination of airborne contaminants.

LHB's written policies and management practices demonstrate the company's continued commitment and leadership in protecting the environment. With the realization that they can eliminate and reduce pollutants during the construction of a building and throughout its lifetime, LHB founded the Green Team in 1990.

The goal of the Green Team is to research, develop, and educate staff, the public and other design firms on techniques that can be applied to all types of projects. Whenever possible, the Green Team applies healthy building design to LHB projects. Both LHB offices are laboratories for healthy building design techniques, so staff work in the same type of naturally lighted, low toxin offices they create. LHB hopes that healthy building design will become a mainstream practice all design firms apply to all projects.

LHB is leading the architectural industry to realize how it can impact the environment at the design and construction levels, and incorporate pollution prevention. Company staff have an environmental ethic both internally and professionally. LHB has proven this by partnering with other environmentally-conscious firms to design buildings that are healthy, and resource and energy efficient. As stated in their application, LHB supports "techniques that reflect our cultures desire to protect the planet."

Liberty Paper, Inc.

Liberty Paper, Inc. (LPI), a manufacturer of 100-percent recycled linerboard paper, was established in 1995 and employs 84 people. LPI focuses on using recycled materials in manufacturing, conserving energy and water, and recovering reusable materials.

The main feedstock at LPI is old corrugated cardboard (OCC). During an average year the company uses 161,880 tons of OCC to make paper products. One source of the company's OCC is its employees. The company encourages employees to bring OCC from home. The value of the OCC is calculated and that amount is donated to the United Way.

Rubber mats that are placed under paper rolls during shipping are also reused. LPI reuses an average of 13,258 pounds of rubber mats annually, resulting in savings of $15,770.

Last year, LPI collected 6,017 pounds of wooden core plugs from its customers and reused them. Wooden core plugs are normally thrown away. They have also collected a large number of wooden core plugs from other printing companies as well. The annual savings resulting from not purchasing new core plugs is $2,077.

The company has introduced state-of-the-art technology to their mill and reduced the amount of electricity and water used in day-to-day operations. LPI employees have implemented a program to turn off equipment when not needed which saves a large amount of electricity. It also monitors water usage closely. The company is constantly looking for new ways to decrease water usage through more efficient production.

LPI has reused or recycled all of its 380-gallon plastic chemical totes. The company has an agreement with its dye manufacturer and supplier to pick up dye totes free of charge. This has kept 428 of the totes out of the waste stream.

Since April 1996, LPI has been working with a company that retrieves, separates and grades wood pallets. Last year they recovered 65,560 pounds of wood from pallets.

LPI has recycled all their starch bags since December 1996. The bags are used to store starch used in the papermaking process. Eastern Bag Connection picks up the bags once a month. They inspect the bags for holes and reuse the acceptable bags in its manufacturing process. Those which are not reusable are ground, baled and sent back to the manufacturer for recycling.

LPI is dedicated to protecting the environment through pollution prevention and recycling. Their mission is to make "the earth a better, safer and cleaner place for us to live." The company is a forerunner in its discovery of and dedication to using 100 percent recycled OCC to make a value-added product.

Steele County Environmental Services:
Green Source 2020

Green Source 2020 is one of the first projects to demonstrate a public-private partnership approach to developing a sustainable community in Minnesota. This project is also the first to encompass an entire county. The project has included waste reduction, pollution prevention and sustainability for the county, including agriculture. Activities have included waste assessments, technical assistance, information materials and displays, community-based planning, workshops, and mini-grants.

The project is making Steele County a more sustainable community by educating citizens and employers about what constitutes a sustainable community. This includes increasing awareness about the barriers to becoming a more sustainable community, and promoting actions individuals, groups, government and businesses can take to help Steele County become better stewards of the earth's resources.

The program has been promoted in many ways.

• Sent out 155 surveys.
• Conducted 45 visits to churches and businesses through April of 1998.
• Produced three tabletop displays and four flyers for use at the Steele County Fair and in public buildings, churches and private businesses.
• Planned and conducted seven workshops.
• Published four print pieces for distribution in approximately 3,000 employee paychecks of 17 local businesses.
• Conducted 30 speaking engagements.
• Initiated an awards recognition program for local businesses.
• Provided funding for four small projects related to sustainability.
• Produced news releases for story ideas, placed ads and written numerous columns for three local newspapers.
• Made appearances on three radio stations and cable TV talk shows.

The 2½-year grant project was funded in part by the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance and also received additional funding, or in-kind support, from Steele County Environmental Services, Owatonna Public Utilities, and University of Minnesota Extension-Steele County. The project has also progressed with the help of countless volunteer hours of steering committee members, subcommittee members and activity specific volunteers.

Steele County has been successful at laying the foundations for a model sustainable community. This nationally and internationally recognized effort is being watched by policy makers to determine what it takes to truly incorporate sustainable concepts on a regional level. They are demonstrating ways that a community can adapt its ideas and solutions to develop the region's economic, environmental and social justice needs now, and for future generations.

1998 Judges

Carolyn Smith has more than twelve years experience in the environmental field. She presently works for Anoka County as a solid waste abatement specialist. Her work experience includes developing public information, policy analysis, program planning and implementation of waste reduction, recycling, household hazardous waste and yard/tree waste. She assists 21 municipalities in the development of local programs, and was the project manager for the Resourceful Waste Management, A Guide for Minnesota-Metropolitan Area Businesses and Industries.

George M. Fell has been an environmental consultant for the past ten years, with over thirty-five years' experience in the waste treatment field. He is a published author and is an instructor for Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, lowa. He has served as a member of city, county, and state environmental commissions and is currently chair of the Dakota County Solid Waste Advisory Council and a member of the Solid Waste Advisory Council of the Office of Environmental Assistance. He is currently developing interactive environmental adult training materials.

Mick Jost is the industrial services team leader for the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) at the University of Minnesota, funded by the Office of Environmental Assistance. Mick has over 20 years of environmental work experience in Minnesota including field work, spill cleanup, site remediation management and, since 1991, technical waste reduction assistance. His MnTAP responsibilities include helping the vehicle maintenance industry improve procedure and process efficiency and find alternatives to using hazardous materials.

Bob Williams is the manager of the Otter Tail County Recycling Program, a recycling and marketing center for west central Minnesota. He is responsible for staffed and unstaffed recycling sites throughout the county, transportation of commercial and residential recyclables to the county processing center, and processing and marketing of recyclables. He served on the Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA) Market Development Coordinating Council for several years, and has been a member of the OEA Prevention, Reduction, Recycling Advisory Council since its inception a year ago.

Mark Dhennin is responsible for environmental and materials engineering at Onan Corporation, a leading manufacturer of generators and related equipment. His environmental duties include pollution prevention planning, regulatory compliance, wastewater treatment and employee training. As a materials engineer, Mark works directly with design, manufacturing and quality teams to incorporate environmentally friendly materials and processes in all stages of production. In 1997, he authored a winning application for the Governor's Award for Excellence in Waste and Pollution Prevention through improvements in metal finishing operations.

Jill Curran is the environmental and community affairs specialist for Rivertown Trading Company, the leading mail order catalog arm of Dayton Hudson Corporation. For 11 years she has developed programs to reduce the company's impact on our natural environment and has designed social mission initiatives enabling Rivertown to be of greater service to the community. She co-chairs the upper Midwest Business for Social Responsibility steering committee. She is also a member of the Pollution, Reduction and Recycling Advisory Council for the Office of Environmental Assistance, and has served as an advisor to Minnesota Waste Wise and the Minnesota Great Printers Project.

Ray Bissonnette is a senior pollution control specialist in the Water and Waste Management and Prevention Unit of the Policy and Planning Division at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). His responsibilities include facilitating the integration of pollution prevention into the agency's regulatory programs. Ray has been employed at the MPCA for 20 years, where he has also worked in the air, water, and hazardous waste programs.

Dan Reinke heads the Minnesota office of Environmental Resources Management. He has provided pollution prevention consulting engineering to manufacturers nationwide for the past nine years and is the co-author of two books on Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing. He is a chemical engineer with a background in industry and state government.

Paul Kohan is quality and reliability manager at Dana Corporation in Plymouth. He has responsibilities for product and system quality and field support for products manufactured at the Plymouth plant (axles and gears). Since 1993, he has been involved with Dana's environmental improvement initiatives, using zero-discharge and elimination of hazardous materials as the objectives. Recognition for Dana's environmental accomplishments include the 1995 Minnegasco Environmental Leadership Award and the 1997 Minnesota Governor's Award for Excellence in Pollution Prevention.

Laura Villa has a bachelors degree in chemical engineering and has worked at Dakota County for 11 years. Her duties include licensing and inspecting hazardous waste generators and TSD facilities, technical assistance to the regulated community, complaint investigation, oversight of contaminated site clean-ups, inspection of industrial solid waste facilities and review of applications for disposal of industrial waste in sanitary landfills.

Curt C. Schmidt is an environmental compliance engineer at West Group. West Group, the preeminent provider of information to the U.S. legal market, was a 1998 Minnesota Waste Wise Leader Award winner, a winner of the 1997 Governor's Awards For Excellence in Waste and Pollution Prevention, a 1997 Minnesota Waste Wise "Smart Business" Award Winner, and is registered as a Minnesota "Great Printer" in honor of its commitment to compliance. Curt has a BS in chemistry, masters degree in business administration, has a certification as a hazardous materials manager, and a former Air Force officer. He has over 12 years of experience in environmental/safety management and environmental chemistry. He is currently responsible for the oversight and management of all activities within the Environmental Compliance Group at West Group's Eagan facility.

Michelle Carstensen is a research associate with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), a nonprofit research and educational organization located in Minneapolis. She researches and promotes biochemicals as substitutes for petroleum-based chemicals in a wide variety of industries including printing, automotive, metal finishing, electronics, paints and coatings, and plastics. She has promoted the benefits of biochemicals to manufacturers, regulators, and technical assistance providers through workshops, conferences, magazine articles and other written publications. Michelle also works in sustainable development, assisting communities with finding end uses for local feedstocks, such as agricultural residues and food wastes, and converting them into higher value products that encourages local manufacturing and job creation.

Updated December 1998