MADISON, Wis. (December 13, 2018)— The WI Sustainable Business Council is today announcing the 2018 Green Master level companies at the 11th Annual WI Sustainable Business Conference. The Conference is being hosted at the Monona Terrace and sponsored by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP). With roughly 150 Wisconsin businesses currently participating in the Green Masters program, being recognized and celebrated in front of peers makes attaining the Green Master status especially meaningful.
This year, 32 companies are being recognized as Green Masters. Each of these companies scored in the top 20% of all applicants during the year. Of these companies, 27 are returning Green Masters awardees, and we welcome 5 as new Green Master companies this year.
Becoming a Green Master has never been easy, and this year the minimum score for becoming a Green Master again increased. Every year the minimum score has increased, and this year was no exception, even though earning points this year was more difficult.
The 32 companies we are recognizing today have made huge improvements in each of the 9 areas that the program assesses, and they continue to raise the bar for others. The 2018 Green Masters are as follows:
2018 Green Masters
Alliant Energy Corporation – Wisconsin Power and Light Company, Madison
American Family Insurance, Madison
Bounce Milwaukee, Milwaukee
BPM Inc. A Specialty Paper Mill, Peshtigo
Cardinal Glass IG, Spring Green
CNH Industrial, Racine
Covia, Menomonie
Essity (Formerly SCA Tissue), Neenah
Evinrude, Sturtevant
Evolution Marketing, Oconomowoc
Green Bay Packaging Inc., Green Bay
Hudson Hospital and Clinics, Hudson
Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, Minong
Johnson Controls, Glendale
KI (Krueger International), Green Bay
Kohl’s Department Store, Menomonee Falls
Kohler Co., Kohler
Lands’ End, Dodgeville
Lauterbach Group Inc., Sussex
Madison Gas and Electric, Madison
Masters Gallery Foods, Inc., Plymouth
Menasha Corporation, Neenah
Mercury Marine, Fond du Lac
Oshkosh Corporation, Oshkosh
Phillips-Medisize (Phillips Plastics Corporation), Eau Claire
Precision Plus, Elkhorn
Rockwell Automation, Milwaukee
Trout Springs Winery, Greenleaf
UW Credit Union, Madison
UW Health, Madison
Village of Paddock Lake, Paddock Lake
Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation, Madison
Program Director, Kevin Banas, says, “Our application rewards companies for continually pushing the envelope on sustainability actions. A large majority of the 27 returning Green Masters level companies have been receiving this award for 5+ years. To score in the top 20% of all applicants is incredibly difficult, and the fact that some companies have been able to do this year in and year out, deserves recognition. Whether a company is receiving this award for the 8th time, or the 1st time, one thing is certain, they have fully committed to sustainability as a cornerstone of their business. These 32 companies rose to the challenge and we are excited to see sustainability continue to grow here in Wisconsin.”
The Program is comprised of a very diverse group of Wisconsin companies. They range from small businesses to multinationals. This year, the program recognizes companies from eighteen different sectors. The largest sector is Manufacturing, which over 30% of participants describe being part of. It is followed by the Professional sector with 10% of participants. Other sectors include Business to Business Trade, Construction, Energy, Food-Agriculture, Health Care, Hospitality, Printing, and Paper and Packaging
Over the years, participants have made huge sustainability accomplishments, and have made the program more competitive. This year, the average score across all sectors was 464 compared to an average score of 448 last year. To put that into perspective, the average score was only 70 in 2009! This year alone, we welcomed nearly 20 new applicants, and look forward to future growth.
Each of the companies will be introduced and celebrated at the WI Sustainable Business Conference. According to Tom Eggert, Executive Director of the WI Sustainable Business Council, “One of my favorite parts of the conference each year is the introduction of each of the Green Masters companies. I know the privilege of being recognized in front of your peers is a big incentive for companies to continuously improve, and the competitive nature of staying at the front of the pack causes Wisconsin companies to rise above their peers from other states.”
The Green Masters Program is a free, points-based recognition and assessment program that enables Wisconsin businesses of all sizes and from all sectors to receive recognition for their sustainability initiatives. Developed by the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council and Wisconsin businesses, in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the goal of the program is to not only recognize work that is being done, but to give companies a way to benchmark their efforts and compare their performance to other companies within the state. To be eligible to apply, businesses must take at least one action in each of the nine sustainability categories: energy, carbon and other emissions, water, waste management, transportation, supply chain, community and educational outreach, workforce, and governance.
For more information or a complete list of all program participants, go to: http://www.
