FLEXcon and Sustainability

October 2009

For more than 50 years, FLEXcon, an ISO 9001:2008 certified manufacturer, has been dedicated to conducting business with integrity. While this value has rewarded us with long-standing customer relationships, it has brought forth an evolving sustainability initiative that maintains our role as a responsible corporate steward of the environment and, whenever possible, encourages eco-friendly business practices.

As a global manufacturer of pressure-sensitive films and adhesives, FLEXcon recognizes the potential impact on the environment from our manufacturing processes and our products. Therefore, it is our policy to minimize environmentally adverse operations by striking a balance between environmental factors and our manufacturing processes to sustain the quality of life for our employees and our neighbors in the communities where we operate.

Customer and employee satisfaction, commitment to excellence, integrity, taking responsibility for environmental sustainability and providing a safe workplace are the hallmarks of FLEXcon’s mission and culture. Along with initiatives around enhancing our reputation as a strong corporate citizen, we believe being a good steward of our environmental resources will make us a stronger, more competitive company, better able to support and satisfy our broad customer base.

Sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It also means living within the limits by understanding the interconnections between economy, society and the environment.

FLEXcon takes sustainability a step further by developing "green" products, which include environmentally-friendly and water-based adhesives for specialty applications. We are active in raw material recycling programs with suppliers, which coincides with our objectives to minimize effluents, emissions and wastes from FLEXcon’s operations to the lowest achievable levels; pursue the most current environmental technologies available; maintain close affiliations with local, state, and federal agencies; provide an open forum for all employees to suggest opportunities in relation to environmental matters; and to audit ourselves using independent sources to assist us in meeting our objectives.

We actively pursue the most current environmental technologies available for new and existing processes and engage in activities that directly impact toxic material use reduction, reuse, or elimination. We require all FLEXcon employees and operations to comply with applicable local, state, and federal regulations relating to environmental matters.

FLEXcon’s efforts are guided by its Environmental Management System (EMS), which defines responsibilities of employees at all levels of the organization to continuously monitor and improve environmental factors.

Through the years, FLEXcon has reduced its air emissions and its natural gas consumption through investments in higher-efficiency processing equipment. We have also reduced waste through Lean Manufacturing Initiatives and cut electricity consumption with improvements to lighting and efficient process equipment upgrades. In fact, reductions in gas and electricity consumption were realized amid company growth, including the addition of a new facility in Kentucky as well as the installation of new equipment at various facilities.

Further, all employees are responsible for maintaining and reinforcing environmental management and sustainability. This commitment brings together planning, strategies and tools to create a process that maintains meaningful dialogue with regulatory agencies; effectively communicates the environmental management and sustainability objectives throughout FLEXcon facilities; and fosters an environment that embraces innovative concepts and ideas for the best environmental and sustainability performance possible.

In today’s competitive global marketplace, the issues relevant to supporting sustainability are directly linked to FLEXcon’s long-term profitability and viability.

We believe that sustainability and business success are inextricably linked. We are committed to environmental responsiveness, and we encourage you to help us in this endeavor knowing sustainability is important both socially and economically as it is environmentally.

Our sustainability dashboard has eight key elements; reducing natural gas, electricity and water consumption; waste reduction; recycling, hazardous waste, air emissions and safety.

Through our sustainability initiative, we have:

• Reduced consumption of natural gas by 41.8 percent since 2004 through investments in higher-efficiency processing equipment;
• Reduced electricity consumption by 6.8 percent since 2004 through effective scheduling of equipment and with the installation of motion-detector sensor switches in offices and plants that lessen energy use by automatically turning lights off in offices, conference rooms and other areas that are not occupied;
• Reduced waste by more than 25 percent since 2004 through Lean Manufacturing initiatives;
• Maintained a company-wide conscientiousness that water is a precious resource. In an effort to reduce our usage, which is typically less than half of our daily allowable limit, FLEXcon employs water conservation methods when feasible to manage and quantify its corporate water footprint. This has enabled FLEXcon—even during a growth in business, staffing and infrastructure— to maintain current water consumption levels at usage rates dating as far back as the year 2000. To do this, FLEXcon continually identifies conservation areas across our facilities and supply chain, while researching market mechanisms and technologies to recycle or control water use;
• Instituted recycling programs with most of our major suppliers so that, when technically feasible, we can use recycled packaging materials in product manufacturing;
• Reduced consumption of wood pallets for transporting and storing raw materials and products within FLEXcon facilities by replacing a significant portion with recyclable plastic pallets, which last longer, up to 10 years, and do not require metal strapping, another source of waste associated with wood pallets. Also, with plastic pallets, there is less debris on product rolls, which means less material waste;
• Continued to pursue "green" initiatives, including such technologies and methodologies as "greener" products; alternative energy sources; disposal of hazard waste as an alternative fuel source; waste-to-energy facilities; and applies them where feasible to promote and sustain best industry practices;
• Upheld the goals of our EMS policy for continuous compliance with air emission regulations. Air emissions are greatly reduced by routing through various types of thermal oxidizers, which achieve a minimum of 98 percent destruction efficiency, and through the development of high-performance, water-based adhesives;
• Instituted a safety program with the principle that every task must be performed safely, not just for employees, but also for our contractors, visitors, customers and the communities in which we operate;
• Maintained the highest standard of safety through OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), which FLEXcon has been a participant of since 1995, achieving STAR status in 1998.
• Consolidated our holiday/vacation schedules to allow longer periods of equipment down-time to save heat, light, and power, while focusing on preventive maintenance;
• Match the length of the film roll to the size of the order to minimize material waste and reduce downtime;
• Initiated a predictive maintenance program in 2008 that will allow equipment to perform at a high level of efficiency;
• Encouraged employees to take advantage of FLEXcon’s free Wellness Initiative. More than 55 percent of FLEXcon’s employees participate in the Wellness Initiative, which offers numerous programs tailored to specific needs from weight management and nutritional counseling to smoking cessation to pre- and postnatal care.

While we are proud of our accomplishments, FLEXcon recognizes that our sustainability initiative must always be evolving, with constant improvements to minimize any impacts of our current and future activities. Moreover, FLEXcon understands that sustainability is an investment in the future that will not only benefit our customers, employees, and suppliers, but also the societies and the world in which we live.

Darwin Irish
Director, Risk Management
(508) 885-8369