Illinois Manufacturer, Inc. (IMI)
Governor’s Sustainability Award Application - Narrative
About IMI
Illinois Manufacturer Inc. (IMI) specializes in making custom plastic housing and enclosures for electronic devices.
Our products are found in homes, offices, and medical facilities around the world. IMI opened its first
manufacturing facility in 1975 in Anytown, IL where we maintain our headquarters and a large manufacturing
operation still today. IMI also has operations in Michigan and Pennsylvania. This application only covers work
carried out in our Illinois facility.
Overview
In August 2011, IMI released its first Sustainability Report, documenting best practices in waste, water, and
energy reduction and setting forth new goals for environmental performance improvements. By the year 2016,
IMI commits to:
-
Reduce energy consumption per unit of production by 20%
Convert 75% of our service fleet to alternative fuel vehicles
Achieve 85% waste diversion
Produce a bi-annual Sustainability Report
In 2012 and 2013, IMI took major strides toward achieving these goals and completed several other projects that
help make us a better company, a safe and enjoyable place to work, and an example for our peers in the industry.
We are applying for the Governor’s Sustainability Award in recognition of the following achievements:
Achievement
Date Completed
Metrics Category
Published Sustainability Report and 2016 Goals
August 2011
Community
Engagement
Installed rinse station flow controls
January 2012
Water
Replaced office area lighting with LEDs
January 2012
Energy
Repaired steam leaks and improved pipe insulation
January 2012
Energy
Purchased high-frequency chargers for forklift batteries
February 2012
Hazardous Waste
Recalibrated plastic molds to reduce false positives
July 2012
Piloted polymer scrap separation and recycling
September 2012
Purchased an all-electric vehicle for sales fleet, installed
EV charging stations
Initiated employee commuter program, incentivizing
biking, carpooling and public transport
Established composting pilot in employee garden
March 2013
July 2013
July 2013
Non-Hazardous
Waste
Non-Hazardous
Waste
Transportation
Fuel
Transportation
Fuel
Waste
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Published Sustainability Report and 2016 Goals
August 2011 | Community Engagement
IMI has a certified Environmental Management System (ISO 14001:2004) in place, which acts as a sustainability
policy for the entire company, ensuring that we are continually tracking our environmental impacts and seeking
areas of improvement. The IMI Sustainability Team – consisting of employee representatives from each area of
the company – is responsible for implementation of data tracking, project implementation, and employee
awareness/engagement efforts.
Starting in 2010, the Sustainability Team engaged IMI’s top management, engineers, and floor supervisors in
completing a Sustainability Report. The Report consists of data and information on current environmental, social,
and economic performance – collected and reported in adherence with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards
(for more information on GRI standards, see: www.globalreporting.org). The Sustainability Team also wanted to
include a series of 5-year improvement goals in the Report. These were formulated through a series of
Sustainability Team meetings, with input from IMI employees at all levels including top management, engineers,
office staff and manufacturing staff.
The Sustainability Report was released publicly in August 2011 and can be viewed here:
www.globalreporting.org/Pages/imi-2011.aspx
This was a landmark event for the company and has helped us focus on initiatives that have a strong positive
impact on both environmental health and the longevity of our company.
Installed rinse station flow controls
January 2012 | Water
One of IMI’s production lines has a rinse station that previously received water at a constant flow rate, calibrated
to the maximum production rate on the line. Our manufacturing engineers developed and installed a flow rate
controller that matches water volume input to the production rate.
This simple control had a significant impact on our water consumption. We estimate that it reduced water
consumption by 25% for an average production day, equaling 105,000 gallons of water and approximately $500
saved annually.
Replaced office area lighting with LEDs
January 2012 | Energy
As part of our energy reduction initiative, the Sustainability Team sought advice from the local electric utility on
potential energy efficiency savings and associated financial incentives. While LED replacements represent a
significant energy-saving opportunity throughout our facility, we decided to start with replacing the T12
fluorescent lighting in our office areas with LED tubes.
With support from the utility incentive, we were able to replace 100 T12 fixtures with LED equivalents that use
80% less electricity. Our annual savings from this project are estimated at 49,000 kWh and $5,600.
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Repaired steam leaks and improved pipe insulation
January 2012 | Energy
The IMI facilities team conducted a careful review of the steam piping on the manufacturing floor and found
several leaks that developed in areas of the plant without much foot traffic. They also identified areas with weak
or ineffective insulation. By making these simple repairs, IMI saw an immediate savings in natural gas usage. We
estimate the savings to be about 20,000 therms annually, representing around $8,000 in savings.
Purchased high-frequency chargers for forklift batteries
February 2012 | Hazardous Waste
Our facility has four battery-operated forklifts – two in shipping/receiving and two in production - that are
operated frequently throughout the day. While battery operation is beneficial for air quality, we are required to
store up to three extra batteries for each forklift and dispose of the batteries properly at the end of their life. We
purchased a set of high-frequency battery chargers that significantly reduce the charging time for each of the
forklift batteries. We have been able to cut the amount of spare batteries we keep on hand by half. Additionally,
each of the battery chargers is equipped with a microprocessor controller that uses charging algorithms to
prevent under- and over-charging, extending the life of the batteries.
Fewer extra batteries and extended battery life equate to less battery purchases and about 1,000 pounds less
hazardous waste disposed on an annual basis. We estimate the cost savings of this measure to be around $2,000
annually.
Recalibrated plastic molds to reduce false positives
July 2012 | Nonhazardous Waste
In pursuit of IMI’s waste reduction goal, our manufacturing engineers were tasked with reviewing opportunities
for waste avoidance on the manufacturing floor. Their research yielded two different efforts at reducing waste
plastics from our molds. The first effort re-calibrated the vision systems on five molds, which were was causing
acceptable final products to be rejected – these are called “false positives.” We estimate that this recalibration
reduced false positives by 75%, reducing plastic waste by an estimated 11,000 pounds (~5.5 tons) annually. The
estimated raw material cost savings are $6,950 per year.
Piloted polymer scrap separation and recycling
September 2012 | Nonhazardous Waste
The manufacturing engineer team also began piloting a project to increase the recyclability of our plastic scrap.
Currently, the plastic flakes from our mill machines are fed out into tubs which are then emptied together into a
15 cubic-yard trash compactor. The compactor is picked up and taken to a landfill once per week. This material is
not recyclable because such a great variety of plastic polymers are mixed together in the compactor.
The engineering team identified the most voluminous polymer used in our manufacturing process and created a
separate collection system for the mills that run that material. Now that this scrap is acceptable for recycling, we
no longer need to have the trash compactor picked up each week. Instead we have worked with the garbage
company to have the compactor picked up on an on-call basis. We estimate the annual impact of this system
change to be 58,000 pounds of material diverted from landfill, and $17,000 in disposal costs avoided.
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Added electric vehicles to fleet and installed EV charging stations
March 2013 | Transportation Fuel
Our service, repair, and sales staff use a mix of sedans, pickup trucks, and vans for their work. In total, the IMI
company fleet consists of 20 vehicles. When we set our goal of converting 75% of our fleet to alternative fuel
vehicles, we already had two flex-fuel trucks that run on E85 ethanol as well as a salesman car that runs on
compressed natural gas (CNG). In 2013 we purchased two all-electric vehicles. With an EPA range of 75 miles,
both vehicles will be able to make routine customer visits without consuming a single gallon of gasoline.
Ultimately, we decided to install a total of four charging stations in our parking area – two for the company
vehicles and two for employees. This opens up the opportunity for employees to feel comfortable about using an
electric vehicle for their commute to work. With two electric sales vehicles on the road, and two commuters
switching to electric, our estimated fuel and emissions savings are estimated at 1,700 gallons of gasoline and 15
metric tons of CO2.
Initiated employee commuter program
March 2013 | Transportation Fuel
To further reduce the fuel and carbon intensity of our employee’s commutes, the Sustainability Team worked
with IMI’s Human Resources department to develop a clean commute incentive program. The incentive program
provides the following incentives for employees who use means other than a personal vehicle to get to work:



Carpooling: IMI set up an intranet site for employees to share their routes to work and find
overlapping commutes. The website allows employees to post their carpooling activity.
Employees receive a gift certificate for every 40 carpool trips they log.
Active Transport (biking/walking): Walkers and bikers are also encouraged to post their
commutes on our intranet site. Bikers who live more than 10 miles from work receive a gift
certificate for every 40 trips they log. Additionally, bikers and walkers who log at least 1 trip per
week are provided with a storage locker for a change of clothes and shower supplies at the office.
Public Transport: The nearest train station to our office is 2 miles away and the nearest bus stop
is 1 mile away. Our first commuter survey of employees showed that 15% of employees would be
incentivized to take public transportation if there was a shuttle to take them from the bus/train
station to the office and back every day. IMI is currently piloting 8am, 9am, 5pm and 6pm shuttles
for this purpose. There are 15 employees taking advantage of this service.
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Established composting pilot in employee garden
August 2013 | Nonhazardous Waste
Our Sustainability Team has maintained a small employee garden on our grounds since 2006. This year, the
Sustainability Team worked on establishing a system for collecting coffee grounds, tea bags, and raw fruit and
vegetable scraps from employee break areas. These scraps are collected separate from the trash and transported
to the employee garden where they are composted along with garden scraps and yard trimmings.
Establishing this program required three major efforts:
1) Train employees – The Sustainability Team created signage indicating, with actual photographs, which
items are acceptable in the compost program. The team also purchased countertop compost collection
pails with lids. Two pails, with accompanying signage, were added to each of the three employee break
rooms throughout the IMI facility. Finally, the Sustainability Team hosted a catered “Lunch and Learn”
event for all employees to explain the program, answer questions, and demonstrate which types of
leftovers are compostable.
2) Coordinate with janitorial staff – IMI worked with the janitorial company that services our facilities to
ensure that the breakroom compost pails are emptied on a nightly basis. The pails are emptied into a
green rolling container housed outside near the garden. The Sustainability Team and gardening group are
then responsible for emptying the rolling container into the compost area on a weekly basis.
3) Improve composting area – The Sustainablity Team used a portion of their budget to purchase materials
for constructing a three-bin garden composting system. The team was able to keep costs low by repurposing used wood pallets as the siding for the three compost collection areas. This system keeps the
compost contained and controls the progression of the composting process.
The compost yields, on average, 30 gallons of compostable material per week. This equates to about 2,300
pounds of landfill diversion per year.
Ongoing Activities
IMI will continue in pursuit of the sustainability goals we have set to achieve by 2016. Here’s a breakdown of the
process that we need to make in the next two years to achieve them:
Goal
Current Status
Reduce energy consumption per
unit of production by 20%
Currently at 16.5% reduction
-
Considering geothermal heating/cooling
system.
Convert 75% of our service fleet to
alternative fuel vehicles
Currently at 20%
-
Planning four hybrid truck purchases in
2014.
-
Expand polymer separation pilot
-
Establish commercial compost program that
will accept wider range of items.
-
Establish 1-2 sustainability job positions that
will keep reporting and progress on track.
Achieve 85% waste diversion
Currently at 50% waste diversion
Produce a bi-annual Sustainability
Report
Behind-schedule for second
sustainability report. Planned
release August 2014
Upcoming Projects
Regulatory Compliance
Illinois Manufacturer Inc. is not subject to any environmental enforcement action or notice of violation from the
U.S. EPA or Illinois EPA.
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Illinois Manufacturer Inc. (IMI)
Governor’s Sustainability Award Information – Supplemental Documentation
Normalized Impact Data
To help us get an accurate perspective on the impact of our efforts, we took a look at our 2012 vs. 2013 energy
usage, waste generation, and fuel usage and normalized the numbers. The comparison data is summarized below.
Note that this information will conflict in some cases with the information reported above, because project s were
initiated and finished at different times of the year.
Metrics
Category
Normalization
Metric
FY2012
Usage
FY 2012
Normalizing
Quantity
6,500
FY2012
normalized
FY2013
Usage
Energy
Electricity
# units
shipped
1,800,000
kWh
Energy
Natural Gas
# units
shipped
Waste
Landfilled
Waste
Water
FY2013
Normalized
%
Reduction
1,725,000
FY2013
Normalizing
Quantity
6,750
277
kWh/unit
256
kWh/unit
7.5 %
350,000
therms
6,500
53
therms/unit
330,000
6,750
49
therms/unit
9.3 %
# units
shipped
190,000
lb
6,500
29 lb/unit
120,000
6,750
18 lb/unit
39 %
# units
shipped
420,000
gallons
6,500
65 gal/unit
330,000
gallons
6,750
49 gal/unit
25 %
Photos
EV Charging in IMI parking lot
Used-pallet compost collection bays in employee garden
Close-up of LED T8 replacements
Source-separated plastic flakes – diverted from landfill
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