Environmental Stewardship

Carbon Emissions - Our Growing Commitment & Shrinking Footprint

As part of our corporate commitment to environmental sustainability, Gilchrist & Soames measured the direct and indirect Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of our operations and products. This established a baseline with which to measure future efforts to reduce our company's carbon footprint.

The following areas were evaluated by ICF International: manufacturing, commutes and business travel. While our study was very thorough, it is an ongoing analysis as we continue to learn more about downstream emissions for products and components manufactured around the world.

The study estimated our annual carbon emissions to be 14,550 metric tons, which is equivalent to the annual emissions from 2,703 passenger vehicles or the annual energy use of 1,303 homes.

With this information in hand, we have identified in Phase 1, five key areas of improvement to reduce emissions:

1. Reduce shipments of raw materials/components globally - local sourcing
2. Manufacture finished goods closer to our customers
3. Implement LEED-EB Certification plan for reducing consumption of energy and water in our manufacturing facility
4. Adopt a four- versus five-day manufacturing operation to reduce employee commutes
5. Convert all Gilchrist & Soames bottled collections to PET or HDPE

With these and other future initiatives, we're confident we will reduce our total GHG emissions. Gilchrist & Soames' future goal is to become carbon neutral through the purchase of high-quality, verified carbon off set credits that support meaningful emission reduction projects globally.

We invite all of our customers and stakeholders to contact us for specific information on the methodology of the calculation, as well as updates on our measurable goals. And, hopefully, join us on the road to a greener future.