What is so "GREEN" about Enviroline's "GREEN&SMART" Choice
Being “GREEN” can mean so many things today, and most companies are jumping on the green bandwagon – legitimately or otherwise – to communicate to consumers that they are “GREEN.” Though there are attempts to define and standardize "GREEN", such as with Green Seal in the architectual industry, there is still no one single definition for what “GREEN” means, especially in the industrial coatings market... It’s no wonder consumers find themselves confused by all the claims, and why new terminology like “greenwashing” (the use of false or misleading green marketing claims) is popping up.
We at Enviroline have always known we are environmentally friendly, that we have been “GREEN” long before “GREEN” was a trendy term. All the buzz to meet the current California VOC regulations - we have been meeting and exceeding California's criteria for the last 50 years! But is that all there is to being "GREEN", providing low VOC products and designing a logo to go with it? No. We at Enviroline know we can do more. And the first step is to outline where we are now... to clearly understand and define what “GREEN” means, how specifically we fit in, and how we could do better. This is what we discovered:
Enviroline is “GREEN” because we provide:
- Less Harmful Products - Zero and Ultra Low VOCs – since Day 1! Enviroline’s founder was a pioneer in the coatings and linings industry, developing the first thick film, single coat, fast cure coatings and linings for severely corrosive environments. These coatings emitted zero VOCs from the start, not through reformulations to meet a green marketing objective, but rather because it was the right thing to do 50 years ago, just as it’s the right thing to do today. Coatings with Zero VOCs protects workers and the environment from harmful fumes and chemicals and saves owners money by providing a faster application, cure and, therefore, turnaround.
- Environmental Protection - “Thicker is Better!” …Coatings with Zero VOCs allows for a thicker, more durable, coatings for longer-lasting protection from corrosion and potentially devastating leaks.
- Recycling - We provide the means necessary for tank and pipe owners to economically recycle their steel and concrete structures. This is a fact all of us in this industry can be proud of. The average person recycles tiny aluminum cans, we recycle millions of cubic feet of steel each year!
- Energy Efficiency -
- Enviroline coatings are applied in a single coat, often direct to metal, requiring less energy to apply than multi-coat systems
- Enviroline’s newer low temperature cure coatings minimize the need for heating
- The Enviroline Corrosion Monitoring System uses solar power for its energy source
- Support to Green Initiatives & Trends - Numerous GREEN initiatives have developed over the past few years and Enviroline has been tracking each to determine where we can help.
- LEEDS Building – Enviroline’s Zero and Low VOCs coatings and linings can help owners/ specifiers achieve LEEDS certification. Though LEEDS has yet to reach an industrial level, related industries are now achieving LEEDS certification, including (and congratulations to each!):
- Kettle Foods - Beloit Plant Beloit, WI
- Alameda County Waste Management, Oakland CA
- City of Tallahassee Solid Waste Building, Tallahassee FL
- Deer Park Water Bottling Plant NWNA Lee FL
- Nestle Pure Life Water Bottling Plant, Red Boiling Springs TN
- King County Power Distribution Headquarters Seattle WA
- Stoller Vineyards Winery Stoller Vineyards Dayton OR
- Anheuser - Busch Technology Center St. Louis MO
- P526 Aircraft Maintenance Hangar, Navy, Norfolk VA
- "FROG'S LEAP WINERY" Rutherford CA
- QTG Bottling Plant QTG Wytheville VA
Enviroline believes it is only a matter of time before LEEDS reaches industrial building, and Enviroline, with its Zero VOCs coatings and linings, will be there.
- Ethanol Production - ethanol production (from corn, sugar cane, switch grass, etc.), distribution and integration into our fuel supply is a trend that will be around for awhile due to worldwide legislation and growing public awareness. However, ethanol is highly corrosive and has different corrosion protection requirements than oil & gas. Enviroline is ready for bio fuels. We’ve tested our coatings for their ability to withstand ethanol, and have already lined a number of refinery ethanol tanks.
So, are we there? What more can we do?
Enviroline is doing more. We are continuously striving to improve both our product line and our processes by:
- testing our products for a wide assortment of conditions and cargos (i.e. ethanol) to maximize each tank and pipe's sustainability - meeting the needs of the present as well as planning for potential changes in the future saves time, money, resources.
- creating Low Temperature Cure versions of all our core product to maximize energy efficiency
- maintaining Enviroline's ultra low VOC benefits in any thin-film coatings we sell
- looking at ways to reduce the number of coats in our polyurethane exterior coatings to a single coat system, to maximize energy efficiency
- looking at waterborne coating technology to provide the same ultra low VOC properties but for a multitude of new applications where epoxy technology is not used
- looking at ways to create a paperless office environment
- improving our office recycling practices
So… what is your business doing to be more GREEN? Share with us your ideas and upcoming projects. Perhaps you’re working with LEEDS, to become an inspector or specify/bid on a LEEDS project. Perhaps you have looked at your carbon footprint and found ways to reduce your company’s impact on our environment. Have you found the economical side of being GREEN, where GREEN practices can save you or your company money?
Tell us what you have done and we will (with your permission) publish your news in an upcoming issue.
In the next issue of Enviroline's "GREEN&SMART" series:
When Eco-friendly meets Economical. Why going Green can save you money!
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