Yes, the huge contingent of world-class engineers ensconced in Michigan’s Great Southwest is working hard to innovate the coolest and best new things for your kitchen, laundry, garage and more…but they are also increasingly laser-focused on protecting Mother Earth. Their work is not going unnoticed at even the highest levels, either.
Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool Corporation has risen in the Newsweek Green Rankings to 50 and 82 on the national and global lists respectively. The rankings assess the environmental performance of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. and the world. This year, Whirlpool Corporation was classified as a “top-ranked company,” a designation awarded to fewer than 100 companies on either list.
Ron Voglewede, Director of Global Sustainability for Whirlpool, says, “The people at Whirlpool Corporation continuously strive to protect the planet by being more efficient in how we build innovative products that consume less energy.” Voglewede adds, “This distinction is a testament to our commitment to sustainability, which spans our supply chain and sustainable material sourcing initiatives, to our goal of sending zero waste to landfills, and manufacturing products that have a low environmental impact for consumers to use in their own homes. We are proud of all we continue to achieve in sustainability initiatives corporation-wide.”
Earlier this year, Whirlpool Corporation released its 2016 Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s current sustainability programs and accomplishments. With goals to increase sustainable practices, Whirlpool Corporation exceeded its own objectives to reduce both energy and water intensity from manufacturing by 15-percent. Those goals were met three years ahead of the original goal of 2020.
Whirlpool Corporation also completed construction on wind farms at its Ottawa and Marion, Ohio plants with future plans to construct additional turbines at the company’s plants throughout the U.S. Once construction at the Ottawa and Marion, Ohio plants is complete, Whirlpool expects to be one of the largest users of on-site wind energy of any Fortune 500 company in the U.S.
Newsweek Green Rankings is one of the most recognized assessments of the world’s largest publicly traded companies when it comes to environmental performance. Both the U.S. and global lists take the following factors into account:
- Energy Productivity
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Productivity
- Water Productivity
- Waste Productivity
- Green Revenue
- Sustainability Pay
- Sustainability Board Committee and Audited Environmental Metrics
Additionally, monetary fines and potentially harmful products or services may deduct from a company’s final score.
Whirlpool is the number one major appliance manufacturer in the world, with approximately $21 billion in annual sales, 93,000 employees and 70 manufacturing and technology research centers in 2016. The company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Jenn-Air, Indesit and other major brand names in nearly every country throughout the world.
