- Milestone AV Technologies was named a winner of the 2013 Sustainable AV Award by InfoComm International at a VIP reception held June 13 at the InfoComm trade show in Orlando, Fla.
“Milestone AV Technologies has demonstrated a commitment to sustainability principles, and is a deserving recipient of InfoComm’s Sustainable AV Award,” said David Labuskes, CTS, RCDD, Executive Director and CEO, InfoComm International. “A lot of companies talk about getting greener, but Milestone has transformed its words into action, and is an example of how companies can focus on improving the world, while at the same time producing world-class products.”
The Sustainable AV Technology Award was created by InfoComm to recognize people and organizations for implementing environmentally sustainable practices in the manufacturing of products, integration of AV systems, reduction of waste in the workplace and similar strategies.
“This is a great honor and was made possible by a dedicated team of employees and partners committed to continually striving to improve our sustainable efforts across our brands,” said Scott Gill, CEO. “Being environmentally responsible has become a part of our mission and culture. We will continue to work toward new solutions and business practices that are environmentally conscious.”
Milestone purchased an office building in Eden Prairie in 2011, Minn., to serve as its new Global Headquarters. Sustainable design was a primary focus.
“When deciding to move into a new headquarters in Eden Prairie, it was important for us to reduce the impact on the local environment while creating a more comfortable and productive space for Milestone employees,” said Gill. “We were especially pleased to meet both of these goals by renovating an existing building.”
The first sustainable step was to renovate instead of building new – saving an existing building that has a unique design and great natural light. The updated interior of the building has been designed to incorporate natural lighting for 95 percent of regularly occupied workspaces and ENERGY STAR ratings for 95 percent of the equipment in the building.
These efforts led to a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) Silver certification through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Results of energy-efficient features and green building practices that Milestone AV Technologies employs in the new Eden Prairie, Minn., headquarters include:
•30 percent reduction in water usage with the implementation of low flow fixtures.
•15 percent reduction of energy consumption from lighting alone. Interior and exterior lighting was chosen to minimize light pollution at night.
•The building’s HVAC system allows for a 30 percent increase in outdoor air ventilation
•15.5 percent of construction materials were made of recycled content.
•89.5 percent of the construction waste was diverted from the landfill and recycled.
•32.8 percent of construction materials were manufactured locally within 500 miles of the construction site.
•31 percent of the raw material used to create the construction material was also extracted within 500 miles of the project site.
•All paints, adhesives and carpet systems were selected for their low volatile organic compound content.
•Use of outside air to cool the building’s data center without using additional energy due to Minnesota’s low ambient temperature.
•Nearby walking/jogging paths, bicycle storage and shower facilities to encourage alternative ways for employees to commute to work.
•Location near four major highways as well as a proposed light rail transit line.
•Purchasing renewable energy certificates to provide 100% green power helps to improve renewable energy project economics, increasing its competitiveness with fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.
•Every workstation at headquarters has a divided wastebasket for garbage and recycling, and bins in each meeting room and gathering place include space for recyclable content.
•Milestone as a whole has introduced processes to reduce paper waste by utilizing electronic copies rather than printouts; routing fax numbers to e-mail; and creating more online marketing tools including a FastFlip catalog that has proven to be more popular and user friendly than the traditional print form. Milestone switched to recycled paper 10 years ago. All US catalogs are printed on FSC papers with FSC vendors.
The individual brands of Milestone AV Technologies also are heavily invested in green measures.
Sanus has used only recycled paper for assembly manuals since 1986, created a scrap parts recycling program in 1991, invested in a new, nearly 100% recyclable powder-coating process for wood in 2001 and installed a new warehouse lighting system in the Roseville facility in 2008 that reduced energy consumption by 32%.
The Savage and Eden Prairie Milestone facilities operate a Quality Management System which complies with the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. Milestone’s quality management system was originally registered to ISO 9001:2000 in August 2008 and successfully upgraded to ISO 9001:2008 in September 2010. The two most recent quality management systems surveillance assessments resulted in zero non-conformances.
Chief has numerous products that qualify for LEED credits in Materials & Resources or Innovation in Design to help take projects closer to achieving LEED certification. Chief’s industry-first program, RackBuilder Delivered, offers to pre-assemble racks with specified accessories for installers – a benefit of this free program is Chief can properly dispose of packaging materials in a sustainable manner.
Da-Lite Screen Company operates a quality and environmental integrated management system which complies with ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 140001:2004 requirements. Da-Lite’s Warsaw, Ind., headquarters and primary production facility achieved ISO 14001:2004 Certification in April 2008. During the ISO renewal process in March 2011, production facilities in Wichita, Kan., and Cincinnati, Ohio, were added to the certification.
Da-Lite’s front and rear projection screen fabrics are certified by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute for indoor air quality and children and schools. Da-Lite is a member of the US Green Building Council and has several salespeople LEED AP certified.
