JM announces results from first five years of sustainability reporting; establishes objectives for the next five years

DENVER - Saturday, April 30th 2016 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Johns Manville (JM), a leading global manufacturer of energy-efficient building products and engineered specialty materials and a Berkshire Hathaway company, released its 2015 Sustainability Report today. The fifth annual report communicates JM’s corporate commitment to sustainability and conducting business in a responsible way that respects stakeholders and the environment, and is available at www.jm.com/sustainability.

“Johns Manville is committed to proactively shaping the environmental, health, and safety management systems that balance our interest in positively impacting our employees, customers, communities, and the environment,” said Tim Swales, vice president of research and development and chief sustainability officer. “Over the last five years, we have advanced our measurement and management methodologies, as well as gained insight into which sustainability objectives truly deliver value to JM and our stakeholders. We have also taken action, investing in sustainability across our global operations to make the company, our products, and our processes even better.”

Significant accomplishments outlined in the 2015 report include:

    Environmental Compliance and Recognition: In 2015, JM transitioned an additional eight plants to ISO 14001 standards, bringing the total to 23 plants. ISO is an environmental management system that supports the establishment of goals, measuring results and identifying opportunities for improvement on a continual basis.
    Energy Efficiency: JM’s energy savings of approximately 882,000 gigajoules of energy since 2010 is the equivalent of enough energy to power more than 9,000 homes during that same period.
    Waste and Recycling: JM met its initial five-year waste goal in 2014 by implementing waste-saving programs across global operations and by relying on the smart thinking of plant-based employees. That smart thinking continued in 2015. For example, the Jacksonville, Fla., plant developed a method to redirect dust material from product-cutting operations to another party that used it in processes to absorb liquid, reducing plant waste by 50 percent. Additionally, the Milan, Ohio, plant eliminated over 3,300 tons of waste by reusing and recycling process materials last year.
    Industry Recognition: In 2015, JM’s Fruita, Colo., plant received a 24-Karat Gold Challenge Award from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for creating and implementing a program that eliminated decades of reliance on a nearby three-acre waste impoundment complex.
    Employee Development: In 2015, JM increased employee training significantly to 245,000 hours, and executed performance reviews for 99 percent of salaried JM employees.
    Community Investment and Volunteerism: JM charitable donations totaled more than $500,000 in 2015, reaching new causes important to employees and customers. For example, JM took action against human trafficking by partnering with the non-profit organization Truckers Against Trafficking.

“This report represents a commitment that goes even deeper than providing innovative, premium-quality products to our customers,” said Mary Rhinehart, president and CEO. “We’re consistently looking for opportunities to improve, adapt, and create trustworthy relationships with our customers and industry partners, while also delivering the JM Experience to all of our stakeholders. We are pleased with the progress we made in 2015 and are looking at ways to continue building on the results achieved over the last five years.”

Looking ahead, JM has outlined sustainability goals for the next five years. The goals, which became effective Jan. 1, 2016, include:

    Energy: Implement projects that result in a five-percent improvement in energy efficiency by 2020
    Water: Complete a vulnerability assessment of local water sources for all plants by 2020
    Health and Wellness: Continue supporting employee health and wellness by improving upon the 50 percent of employees that participated in bio-metric screenings, and expanding current wellness programs to include an additional focus on mental health
    Safety: Continue to improve performance against our ongoing vision of zero workplace injuries by reducing the three-year rolling average number of yearly injuries by 30 percent by 2020, as well as the three-year rolling Lost Time Injury Rate (LTIR) by 30 percent by 2020
    Solid Waste: Achieve a 10-percent waste intensity reduction by 2020
    Environmental Management Systems: Implement JM’s ISO 14001 environmental management system in all North American and European plants by 2020
    Employee Development: Increase emphasis on employee development by delivering a five-percent increase in employee training hours and ensuring all salaried employees have documented development plans by 2020
    Community Investment and Volunteerism: Increase employee volunteerism by 20 percent by 2020

The 2015 report was developed “in accordance” with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 Guidelines Core option and has undergone review by GRI’s Materiality Disclosures Service to confirm the correctness of the locations of the G4 Guidelines Materiality Disclosures.

About Johns Manville

Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B), is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality products for building insulation, mechanical insulation, commercial roofing, and roof insulation, as well as fibers and nonwovens for commercial, industrial and residential applications. JM serves markets that include aerospace, automotive and transportation, air handling, appliance, HVAC, pipe and equipment, filtration, waterproofing, building, flooring, interiors and wind energy. In business since 1858, the Denver-based company has annual sales of approximately $2.6 billion and holds leadership positions in many of the key markets that it serves. JM employs approximately 7,000 people and operates 44 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China. Additional information can be found at www.jm.com.     

View this news release online at:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160429005876/en

Contacts

Johns Manville

Holly Leiker, 303-475-1690

Holly.Leiker@jm.com

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