DMI Companies is proud to announce that their main manufacturing facility, located in Monongahela, PA, is now classified as a zero-waste to landfill facility.
Spearheaded by an overall corporate vision of a sustainable future and innovative energy-efficient product design, DMI is the first manufacturing facility to achieve the TRUE Silver zero-waste to landfill certification in the state of Pennsylvania. Zero-waste to landfill certifications are also a relatively new concept in the HVAC Parts and Accessories Manufacturing Industry. Typically manufacturing processes are large waste producers, but DMI is among the first in their industry to cease sending waste to landfills through training, audits, and hard work from their employees. Landfill waste diversion through the TRUE system is a whole systems approach aimed at changing how materials flow through society and promotes processes that consider the entire lifecycle of products used within a facility with an end goal of zero-waste. The idea of becoming a zero-waste facility started for DMI in 2011 and after years of hard work, led by Sustainability & Environmental Compliance Manager Lisa Pavan, made the final push for the classification beginning in November of 2018.
“We started with a goal that if something could not be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled, or composted – then it should be restricted, re-designed, or removed from our production pipeline. Most of our production lines can go through many different metal alloys and other materials on a daily basis, so we saw initial hurdles eliminating recycling contamination. However, we worked hard to overcome those hurdles through training, audits, and employee buy in from the factory floor all the way to the corporate office.” – Lisa Pavan, Sustainability & Environmental Compliance Manager
In 2018, DMI diverted 94.49% of its waste from incineration/landfill through recycling, reuse, and reduction programs and plans to improve that diversion rate by 1% annually. DMI sought to obtain 38 credits on the TRUE Silver scale but exceeded that by receiving 41 out of the maximum 45 on March 15th, 2019. TRUE-certified projects are environmentally responsible and achieve a minimum of 90 percent waste diversion. The program helps facilities turn waste into savings, cut greenhouse gas emissions, manage risk, reinvest resources and create jobs.
This certification is one of many accomplishments in sustainability DMI has achieved in its 40-year history of manufacturing HVAC Duct Systems and Accessories. DMI was founded on the idea that its products should increase the efficiency of the whole HVAC system. This practice carries on today as DMI continues to design and manufacture energy-efficient products and pursues sustainable business practices.
“We focus on Sustainability in our corporate strategy through innovative products, operations, and employee engagement (i.e. culture change). We were introduced to this model many years ago and have continually embraced the concept. It’s time to bring it back to the forefront of our discerning employees at DMI. We commit ourselves to integrating sustainability as a core value for DMI; protecting the health and well-being of our employees and our communities. We actively participate in every community in which we operate. We want these communities to thrive.” – Raymond Yeager, President/CEO of DMI
To read DMI’s full TRUE Silver evaluation report, CLICK HERE.
For more information about TRUE and GBCI, we encourage you to learn more at TRUE.GBCI.ORG.
