Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Welcomed Two Kimberly-Clark Corp. Buildings, Both in Neenah, as Tier 1 Structures in the Agency's Green Tier Program

Feb 16, 2016 2:30 PM ET
DNR welcomes Kimberly-Clark's Neenah Nonwovens Facility and Neenah Cold Spring Facility into Green Tier. Left to right: Jean Romback-Bartels, DNR Secretary's Director; Sabina Dhungana, DNR Paper Sector Specialist and Forest Products Specialist; Paige Hilton- Kimberly-Clark, Neenah Nonwovens Facility Manager; Kirsten Held, DNR Paper Sector Specialist and Forestry Outreach and Education Specialist; Duane Shukoski- Kimberly-Clark, Environmental Coordinator; Paul Lombardi- Kimberly-Clark, Neenah Cold Spring Facility Manager; Laurel Sukup, DNR Sustainability and Business Support Section Chief; Shelley Heilman, DNR Environmental Assistance Outreach Coordinator Photo Credit: Kimberly-Clark

NEENAH, Wis., February 16, 2016 /3BL Media/ - Kimberly-Clark's Neenah Cold Spring and Neenah Nonwovens facilities in Winnebago County celebrated their entrance into Tier 1 of the Green Tier program January 21 at their corporate headquarters in Neenah.

"Kimberly-Clark's Neenah Nonwovens and Cold Spring facilities are great additions to the Green Tier program and we look forward to continued superior environmental performance from this great Wisconsin business" said Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp.

Kimberly-Clark's Neenah Cold Spring and Neenah Nonwovens facilities are the second and third of Kimberly-Clark's facilities to enter the Green Tier program. The Kimberly-Clark Experimental Mill has been a Tier 2 participant since 2012.

The DNR Green Tier program recognizes and rewards companies that demonstrate a commitment to superior environmental performance. In exchange for Kimberly-Clark's performance above and beyond state environmental standards at these facilities, DNR offers a single point of contact with the department for easier communications and the use of the Green Tier logo in written marketing materials.

"We are extremely pleased to have joined this exclusive group of companies in the state of Wisconsin, and achieving this milestone is an important step as we begin to work toward our new 2022 sustainability goals," said Paige Hilton, Neenah Nonwovens manager.

Both Neenah facilities identified continual training of employees on their roles in several areas: maintaining their facility's environmental compliance, reducing energy consumption, minimizing waste as well as maintaining compliance with their respective policy statements and Environmental Management Systems.

Each facility has already taken a number of actions to improve their environmental performance.

  • Neenah Cold Spring Facility recycles 98 percent of their manufacturing waste, including product cut outs, cardboard, poly-wrap, packaging materials and scrap wood products, and 100 percent of their universal waste, including lamps, bulbs, batteries, used oil, anti-freeze and scrap metal waste.
  • Neenah Nonwovens focuses on recycling all manufacturing waste. In fact, the facility's waste-to-landfill ratio is typically less than 0.05 percent annually, and its universal waste is 100 percent recycled.
  • The Neenah Cold Spring Facility has completed an energy audit that will be used in 2016 to develop plans designed to reduce power consumption and thus, greenhouse gas emissions.
  • In 2015, the Neenah Nonwoven Facility removed all obsolete roof chillers to improve the facility's energy efficiency, and recently completed an energy audit to identify additional opportunities to reduce electrical demand.

"The teams at NCSF and NNF are equally enthusiastic about being good stewards to our community and environment," said Paul Lombardi, Neenah Cold Spring Facility manager. "Working together, we've aligned our environmental best practices to enable future program growth in Neenah."

More details about Kimberly-Clark and Green Tier can be found on the DNR website for the Cold Spring facility and for the Nonwoven facility as well as on Kimberly Clark's website