Milwaukee, Wis. (September 2018) – The Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council has named General Plastics Inc.(GP) a Green Professional level company within its Green Masters Program. Recognizing sustainable actions by businesses from across the state of Wisconsin, the Green Masters program works to identify businesses that have taken at least one action within each of the nine pillars of ‘sustainability’. Participants in the program (almost 200 in calendar year 2017) receive recognition for their sustainability accomplishments and develop ideas for future sustainability actions.
General Plastics has been an environmental steward for many years. Since 2010 GP has reduced their dumpster pickups by 50 percent while at the same time almost doubling production and sales. Currently they have been able to recycle or reuse 91.3 percent of their scrap and waste, diverting them from the landfill. Since 2013 General Plastics Inc. has reduced their electricity cost by 31 percent, as a percentage of production dollars. To achieve these results, they focused in multiple different areas: Improving overall equipment efficiency, former oven-zoning improvements to optimize heat profiles, and developed a compressed air leak program. With their 2016/2017 42,000sq.ft. building expansion and office upgrade General Plastics added energy efficient lighting with occupancy sensors, high efficiency windows, insulated walls, and employee training spaces. They have also reduced the overall transportation cost and distance product travels and have worked with several customers to develop reusable packaging options.
GP has strategically made the decision to aggressively grow the business in an environmentally sustainable way. This decision has also increased their growth into new business because their vision, values, and execution aligned well with the market segments and targeted customers. When GP started their environmental journey, the goal was to develop the programs in a profitable, sustainable, easily managed and monitored way. This was so the programs would be a part of the organization for the long haul. This summer (2018) General Plastics brought in a sustainability intern from UW-Madison. Matt Aronson helped to develop an annual company sustainability report, as well as many initiatives this summer. He also gathered the data required to determine our overall carbon footprint.
The Green Masters Program is an objective, points-based recognition and assessment program that enables Wisconsin businesses of all sizes and from any sector to join a group of like-minded companies that are on the road to sustainability. The program has established three levels of participation: Green Apprentice, Green Professional, and Green Master. Each year at the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Conference, the top 20 percent of companies that applied during the calendar year are identified and recognized as the Green Masters level companies for the year.
In 2017 General Plastics won the Sustainable Business Process Award. “General Plastics has implemented creative strategies which define them as a leader in sustainability,” says Kevin Banas, Program Director of the Green Masters Program. “They’ve made going green personal in terms of their strategy. They’ve adopted environmental and social programs that benefit their community, employees, and their customers.”
General Plastics, Inc. (GP) is an ISO 9001 & 14001 certified, full service custom plastic thermoformer, fabricator, and value-added assembler, located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When Bob Porsche purchased the company in 1987, GP only had 8 full-time employees in an 11,000sq.ft. facility. Currently GP has over 80 dedicated full-time employees and is now a 93,000 sq. ft. building. GP’s mission is to lead the industry in customer connection through support, employee engagement and development, product and process improvement, leading Environment Health & Safety programs (EHS), and to be a steward within the industry and our community. GP is always investigating and investing in the newest technology to ensure that they can support any of their customers current and future needs.
GP provides high quality and cost effective turnkey solutions for Point of Purchase (POP) and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) in the following markets: Bus, Rail, Truck, Marine, Office, Lavatory, Medical, Health & Wellness, Gaming, Arcade, Food & Beverage, Agricultural, Construction, and Machine Guarding. The customer base that they service is located throughout the United States and Canada.
The WI Sustainable Business Council is a network of Wisconsin businesses that are leaders in integrating principles of sustainability into business operations. The business case for sustainability (defined in terms of people, planet and profit) has never been stronger. Wisconsin businesses are playing a leadership role in not only ensuring the protection and preservation of our natural resources but in creating a vibrant and growing economy. The Council provides best-in-class sustainability resources and brings businesses together to share knowledge, experiences and tools. Find us on the web at www.wisconsinsustainability.com
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