Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. — which manufactures chassis for the motor home, delivery walk-in van, and school bus and shuttle bus markets — announced Tuesday, Feb. 3, that it recently was accepted into the South Carolina Environmental Excellence Program for the company’s ongoing commitment to reducing waste and improving South Carolina’s environment.
SCEEP is a voluntary initiative designed to recognize and reward South Carolina facilities that have demonstrated environmental performance through pollution prevention, energy and resource conservation, and the use of an environmental management system. The Department of Health and Environmental Control has supported SCEEP since its creation in 1997.
FCCC says it was admitted to the program primarily on the strength of its Zero Waste to Landfill efforts, a pilot program initiated by Daimler Trucks North America, FCCC’s parent company. The purpose of the Zero Waste to Landfill program is to become 100 percent landfill waste-free by 2010; FCCC says that as of Dec. 31, it has achieved 90 percent waste-free status, a gain of 62.3 percent for the year over 2007.
“Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation is proud to be accepted into this prestigious state environmental program,” says Bob Harbin, president of the Gaffney, S.C.-based company. “FCCC is committed to lessening our impact on the environment, and we look forward to extending that commitment through our partnership with the South Carolina Environmental Excellence Program.”
FCCC says the facility recycles materials such as plastic, paper, aluminum, cardboard, metals, wood and nylon. The company’s commitment to clean air technologies is in line with Daimler’s global initiative called “Shaping Future Transportation.” Launched by Daimler in November 2007 in Stuttgart, Germany, the initiative is focused on reducing category emissions pollutants, carbon dioxide and fuel consumption.
In March 2008, the FCCC plant was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise Program for its 2007 waste reduction achievement and was accepted as a WasteWise partner. WasteWise engages government, businesses and nonprofit organizations to educate others about the benefits of reducing solid waste. FCCC says its overall waste-reduction statistics include the following:
