Innovation
Green for good
How the Taylor Cos. are helping Northeast Ohio become more environmentally friendly
Smart Business Cleveland | February 2009
With far too many brownfields and too
much landfill waste in this region,
Northeast Ohio needs more organizations
like The Taylor Cos.
The company took on those challenges to
help make this region a better place to live
and work.
The company has not just dabbled in
going green but jumped in with both feet
with three major green initiatives.
The first, land revitalization, demonstrated Taylor’s leadership in green initiatives to
Northeast Ohio.
In 2004, Taylor worked with city, county,
state and federal officials to remediate and
revitalize an abandoned brownfield in
Bedford, Ohio. Taylor was the only company to participate in this process.
The effort enhanced a 50-acre parcel that
was essentially dead both aesthetically and
economically. Now, it is a productive commerce park where employees enjoy their
working environment and the community
is grateful the blight has been removed.
The other major initiative, zero-waste
manufacturing, demonstrates Taylor’s
leadership within its industry.
That initiative took place after the company moved in to its new facilities in
Bedford and helped with the reduction in
consumption of natural resources.
The company took great care in selecting
energy-efficient equipment and followed
much of the advice contained in a subsequent energy audit. The result was a 59 percent reduction in natural resource consumption.
Finally, Taylor made a concerted effort to
reduce its impact on local landfills. The
company focused its efforts on redirecting
production waste away from landfills.
Consequently, all of its sawdust and wood
scraps are composted, scrap leather is upcycled to make purses and wallets, and scrap
fabric, cardboard, paper, post-consumer
plastic and aluminum are recycled.
This strategy has redirected more than 90
percent of Taylor’s waste away from landfills. Most importantly, all of the company’s
employees participate in this process every
day.
These initiatives have greatly impacted the
local environment. The efforts cast the company in a better light within its industry and
will give Taylor a competitive edge for two
reasons: One, efforts in the field of sustainability lowered operating costs and increased
margins. Two, more and more buyers are
including “green” in their purchasing criteria.
The company’s unique story will set them
apart from the competition, above and
beyond product.
HOW TO REACH: The Taylor Cos., (888)-75-TAYLOR or
www.thetaylorcompanies.com
