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We hear a lot about "carbon footprints" these days, but no one seems to explain just what this green buzzword really means. We all know we should try to decrease our footprint, but where does one begin? Here is an introduction to this hotly debated topic as well as what FWE has done to reduce its carbon footprint.

A carbon footprint is "the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person." Greenhouse Gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons and others. Human activity has generated an enormous increase in carbon dioxide emissions over the last 200 years. Reducing these emissions is what lowering carbon footprints is all about.

Each footprint can be looked at as the sum of two parts – the primary footprint and the secondary footprint. The primary footprint is about 46 percent of our total emissions and is controlled completely by our own actions. Our secondary footprint is responsible for approximately 54 percent of the total CO2 emissions and is the result of actions made on our behalf.

The Primary Footprint
Measures your direct emissions of CO2. These come from the usage of fossil fuels to heat our homes, power our vehicles
(cars, planes, trains, etc.) and keep our lights on. These are the emissions over which we possess individual control.

The Secondary Footprint
Measures your indirect emissions, the ones associated with the production and breakdown of goods and services
from which you benefit.

Primary & Secondary footprints for most individuals can be broken down as follows:

What can we do...
To improve our own carbon footprints without detracting from our quality of life? Cutting back on unnecessary energy consumption with simple behavior modifications, such as using public transportation and unplugging household items when they are not in use, is something everyone can do. These actions are referred to as "carbon offsets"; a compensatory measure made by an individual or company that either reduces GHG emissions or increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. To help determine your personal carbon footprint and find out how you can help with the reforestation effort, visit available websites such as carbonfootprint.com , nature.org or www.conservation.org.

Also, to calculate your sustainability specifically for Commercial Foodservice, visit Nafem's Sustainability Calculator Download Page.

Reducing Greenhouse Emissions

In FWE’s effort to reduce greenhouse emissions, a larger understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) became apparent. CSR is an effort to make a significant contribution towards sustainability and competitiveness, a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations, such as Reducing Greenhouse Emissions and lowering their carbon footprint. FWE is proud to be a socially responsible corporate enterprise by reducing the company's overall impact on the environment through the reduction of natural resources and energy, as well as strong recycling and efforts. The first opportunity came when it was decided to invest in automated time and motion lighting in the factory and offices. Not only was this a good start to Corporate Social Responsibility, it reduced electric usage and thus conserving valued global resources. Not a bad start, but we knew we could do much more.

Construction:
FWE's factory is a well insulated precast and considered highly efficient. According to the Department of Energy, buildings account for over 40% of total energy use and over 70% of electricity use in the United States.

Heat/AC:
As much as 50% of the energy used in buildings goes to heating and cooling.
Making smart decisions about heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems can have a big effect on energy consumption and GHG. FWE elected to embrace recycled heat within our Crystal Lake plant. The energy re-used greatly reduces the site's carbon footprint by decreasing GHG emissions. For FWE, this exciting option became available through radiant recycled heat created from manufacturing equipment, such as large ton press brakes, lasers, and welding equipment. FWE uses its on-site generated heat to provide 100% of the heat needed to cover a 50,000 Sq ft +/- factory area. Ultimately, approximately 85% of the factory is heated by recycled heat. This lower and consistent cost gives the company a competitive edge as well as reducing FWE's carbon footprint. Additionally, through proper use of programmable thermostats, FWE saves energy resources and related costs every year in other areas of the facility

Work Environment and Air Quality:
According to the EPA, indoor air quality is one of the top five environmental health risks of our time. In general, factories are associated with manufacturing products and as long as the factories are working, pollution is being created. Therefore, virtually all premises have a pollution exposure.

In the process of crafting FWE products, large laser machinery is utilized, requiring certain gasses to effectively cut metal. Management wanted to eliminate the need to introduce unwanted elements to its’ footprint if at all possible. It was researched how to reduce the company's impact on the environment and still meet the required demands in manufacturing. The answer was “thin air”; separating abundant nitrogen that exists in the air we breathe every day. From inside the factory, FWE filters air an average of 765,600 cf/Hour down to the nano level of 0.2 microns This safe utilization of nitrogen is then used during manufacturing in laser machinery as a shielding agent, meeting demands of manufacturing while the balance of the clean filtered air is directly vented in to the work environment while the nitrogen is recycled. This safe, environmentally friendly and renewable method of corporate stewardship is a significant contribution towards sustainability and competitive bottom-line operations.

Can an Idea Grow?:
FWE has given or planted over 150 trees through its effort of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and has reduced the company's overall impact on the environment through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions outside the four walls of the factory. In addition, FWE encourages employees to contribute to the organic garden located onsite of the manufacturing facility. The garden produces vegetables and fruits consumed both at home and work. Not only do these plants absorb and reduce GHS, the onsite garden reduces the food mile multiplier of GHG typical of farm to market to home incurred by transportation, an average of 1500 food miles per item.

Reduction & Recycle:
As most manufacturing facilities know, paperwork is an essential requirement to keep production organized and timely. Leading edge factory techniques have given birth to an in-house hyper "E-manufacturing environment" at FWE that has reduced paperwork and drawings in the factory by over 65%. Not only does this reduce the amount of paper used but it also has the same reduction in the disposal of the paper products or recyclable waste product. Paper reduction and the reduction / elimination of printers and fax machines has been a company-wide act in improving recycling efforts. This reduction in office supplies and machines is then multiplied in the reduction of waste in the landfills of those very items. FWE also recycles containers, boxes, paper goods, wood, shipping skids and metals. Through employee initiatives, aluminum cans and plastic bottles are saved and recycled, those funds are given to charitable and civic causes such as schools and cancer organizations, and the American Legion's Legacy Scholarship trust fund to benefit children who have lost a parent.

The Business Benefits:

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions produced not only in our four walls of our factory, FWE has contributed to eliminating and reducing GHG emissions outside our four walls, regardless of origin. With forward thinking and management determination, FWE has found creative solutions in reducing our carbon footprint with real bottom-line cost saving benefits consistent with environmentally friendly behavior.

Helping Our Customers and Not (Our Customers):
Restaurants consume one-third of all retail electricity used in the world in addtion to consuming a tremendous amount of gas and water as well as producing a large volume of waste. FWE engineered products help with the conservation of energy and water while typically decreasing the amount of wasted food product that would otherwise find its way into the landfills.

Not only are we helping our customers by producing high quality and industry leading products at a competitive price, but we are also helping to lower food costs associated with waste and contributing to lowering customers carbon footprint. FWE manufactures many Energy Star rated products and even products that are not marked with the Energy Star logo are often times meeting or exceeding those requirements. This not only helps our customers, but crosses boundaries to all that share our planet.

That is just restaurants! However FWE manufactures kitchen equipment that are also used in hotels and resorts, hospitals, correctional facilities, schools K-12, higher education and theme parks around the world. "How" you might ask ?...

Heated-holding, FWE heated holding and transport cabinets become time machines that safely extend the holding times of prepared foods, keeping the "just cooked" flavor and texture. Foods can be cooked and held prior to use. This helps reduce labor, energy and the need to throw away foods prematurely that would find it's way into landfills, reducing energy cost and lower GHG.

FWE Refrigerators and Freezers and Air-Screen units: Refrigerators typically run 24/7, so small improvements in efficiency make big differences in energy use. All FWE Refrigeration units have intuitive run-times and defrost cycles, as well as a reminder light that indicates "clean coil", thus maximizing efficiency and reducing energy cost while improving GHG.

Low-Temp Ovens, Cook and Hold Ovens: By using Cook and Hold Oven technology, the oven can be prepared and loaded with product at night and the chef and staff can walk away. The product cooks un-attended, saving multiple layers of energy and cost. Electric rates are cheaper at night at non-peak rates, rather than during the day at a premium Kw rate. Thus, the benefit is three-fold; lower total energy consumption and at a cheaper price, as well as reduced labor and the associated overhead cost of lights, HVAC and other GHG impacts.

Working Together ...
In taking action to protect the environment—we can make a difference as every action counts. Please consider in joining us in "Protect an Acre" with Conservation International, a global non-profit organization dedicated to the responsible and sustainable care for nature, our global biodiversity, and for the well-being of humanity. For example, the burning and clearing of tropical forests is a major – though often unrecognized – source of greenhouse gas emissions. It accounts for roughly 16 percent of total global emissions, more than all of the world's cars, trucks, ships, trains and planes combined.