NEW YORK—Earth Week marked Designtex’s second year of carbon neutral operations. Coinciding with their 50th anniversary, Designtex is the only contract textile distributor to achieve a net zero operational footprint in its role as a major supplier to an increasingly green building market.
Designtex has continued its partnership again this year with NativeEnergy, a leading provider of carbon offsets, renewable energy credits and carbon footprint consulting. NativeEnergy assessed Designtex’s total operational footprint for 2011 according to the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Greenhouse Gas Protocols. The resulting footprint of 4,075 tons of CO2 emissions this year includes all Designtex facilities’ energy use, business travel, freight (inbound and outbound shipments), employee commuting and waste. A summary of the report is available on Designtex’s website.
Of the total footprint, the majority (3,341 tons CO2) will be offset through investment in the Wewoka Biogas Project, with the remaining tons (734 from electricity use) to be balanced through Green-e certified renewable energy credits (RECs) from Midwest wind power. Jeff Bernicke, president of NativeEnergy, says, “Designtex’s commitment, combined with decisive action, is exemplary. Their purchase of offsets from the Wewoka carbon project is truly helping to build that new facility. NativeEnergy is pleased to include them as a supporter of Wewoka Biogas Project.”
The Wewoka Biogas Project is an innovative “fenceline” project that establishes a landfill gas-to-energy system in rural Oklahoma. The Commercial Brick Corporation has been producing bricks in Wewoka since 1925. Traditionally relying on expensive natural gas for fuel, owner Bob Hartsock realized that the highly potent greenhouse gas methane being released from the landfill next door could be captured and used to power his kilns. NativeEnergy’s innovative Help Build carbon offsets allow Designtex, among other companies, to enable the construction of this community-based project.
The Wewoka Biogas Project will be verified to the Voluntary Carbon Standard to show that approximately 25,000-30,000 tons of CO2 equivalents per year will be prevented from being released to the atmosphere.
Tom Hamilton, president and CEO of Designtex says, “Designtex is proud to operate at net zero carbon, and we will continue to address the pressing need for renewable energy sources and greenhouse gas reductions through our actions.”