A lot of firms declare themselves “Green” by issuing a
policy statement on the subject. Rather than make up an empty statement,
we list here some of the things that we have done that we feel are helping
the environment. Most of these things have financial benefits as well.
- Our factory building is a former apple-packing factory built in
1929. The company we purchased it from had obtained a permit to tear
down the building. We saw value where the former owner did not. We
remodeled the building adding new plumbing, heating, electrical, and
sprinkler systems, a new roof and a lot more. It is still not real
pretty on the outside, but it is a useful building the size of a
football field that did not end up in a landfill.
- Our showroom building is a former car dealership building built in
1921. The site had environmental issues from underground gas tanks. We
chose to ignore our lawyer’s advice and purchased the building even with
these problems. It took us over 10 years, but we eventually had the
problems addressed, got the property into the state clean up fund, and
the state has declared it a closed case.
- We keep our factory heat set at 55 degrees in the winter. We all
have gotten used to the idea of wearing sweaters or sweatshirts and we
use a lot less natural gas.
- We use water based stains to finish our furniture. The Virginia
Department of Environmental Quality regulates our finishing department
and our sawdust collection system. Our annual reports to that agency
typically show that we better their requirements by 75%.
- We build furniture from lumber species that are renewable and
sustainable resources : Cherry, Maple, Poplar and Oak. We avoid Mahogany
and other “Rain Forest” timbers.
- When we harvest timber from our own land we use the following
practices to protect the environment:
- We use existing logging trails rather than building new
ones, which reduces soil erosion.
- We build and maintain water bars on logging trails that
divert water and keep it from gaining momentum that will wash away soil.
- We help arrange for neighboring landowners to have their
land timbered at the same time as ours. We allow them to use our staging
areas to load their logs on trucks. This limits the areas of disturbed
soil and reduces erosion.
- We remove lap wood (the left over branches and tree tops)
by giving it away to folks that cut it for firewood. This reduces the
chance of forest fires and reduces the severity of a fire, if there is
one, by removing potential fuel.
- At the conclusion of any logging operation we reseed all
trails and disturbed areas with a fast growing grass seed.
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