Menlo Worldwide Logistics, the global logistics subsidiary of Con-way Inc., announced its Lean Supply Chain Management Center in Aurora, Ill., has been awarded ISO 14001 certification by the International Organization for Standardization.
The ISO 14001 family of standards provides a framework for organizations to develop an environmental management system. The standards serve to encourage companies to evaluate all areas of business activity that have an environmental consequence and establish measures, controls, mitigation strategies and communications programs to manage their impact.
“Menlo employs extensive lean practices for waste reduction and continuous improvement,” says Tony Oliverio, vice president of supply chain services. “Attaining ISO 14001 certification was a logical step for Menlo, given our aggressive sustainability strategy and complementary role that our lean expertise plays to help us identify and remove waste from the carbon stream. It’s an honor to earn this important certification, as it further demonstrates to our customers our deep commitment and effective practices for minimizing the environmental impact of our operations.”
The Aurora office is the first Menlo facility to be awarded with the certification. The process began in January 2010 when the company’s internal Environmental Management System team took inventory of the facility, mapped its carbon footprint and identified environmental aspects and impacts of the operation.
Eventually, the team developed a system of compliance that mirrored the ISO 14001 guidelines and initiated new procedures, which included a comprehensive recycling, energy and waste reduction program and a system to capture, calculate and further manage greenhouse gas emissions.
Menlo says the benefits to new and existing customers are many, including reduced energy consumption, identification and remediation of practices that generate environmental waste and lowered risk through environmental impact analysis. Additional benefits include increased visibility to environmental performance and waste reduction opportunities.
With a certified ISO 14001 system in place, Menlo says it intends to accelerate efforts to obtain ISO 14001 certification for additional facilities in North America and around the world. The company also plans to extend its carbon assessment and mitigation services to the supply chain operations it conducts on behalf of its customers.
