From EMSEAL, the Westborough, MA based company that sealed all 6,514 windows on the Empire State Building LEED Gold retrofit, comes news of their own more local sustainability efforts. Like this massive project, which resulted in a 38% energy savings for the 102-floor, 2,900,000 square foot, New York skyscraper, EMSEAL has similarly achieved a substantial reduction in energy usage due to its recent efforts facilitated by the Sustainable Business Leader Program (SBLP).

EMSEAL is certified and recognized by SBLP as a leader in sustainable business and partner in debunking the myth that companies must choose between profitability and sustainability.

The SBLP, under which EMSEAL is a certification candidate, is dedicated to, “supporting locally owned businesses in improving their environmental business practices, reducing their carbon footprint, and saving money.” EMSEAL has now accomplished a number of measures to conserve energy and materials in accordance with the SBLP, including a company-wide installation of the latest energy-efficient lighting systems in its factories and corporate offices. It has fully implemented a recycling system for its manufacturing and office waste materials, and also switched to cleaner, more environmentally-friendly chemicals both in outside lawn care and landscaping as well as interior facility and manufacturing equipment cleaning and maintenance.

Says EMSEAL CEO Lester Hensley, “Because of our financial and cultural success with this program, I would encourage any and all local businesses to explore SBLP certification, or to pursue similar local and national sustainable business initiatives.”

Well ahead of traditional business investments, implementation of sustainability initiatives under the SBLP can have a return on investment as short as one year, after which savings drop to the bottom line. This impressive ROI was true for EMSEAL and is typical for most businesses that sign on to the SBLP, making it a smart and worthwhile investment both financially and environmentally.

On June 22, 2012, EMSEAL representatives attended a conference headed by Will O’Brien and Bill Bean of SBLP at Abbott Bioresearch Center in Worcester, MA. EMSEAL CEO Lester Hensley was among the business executives who spoke at the conference, offering an account of his company’s incorporation and success with the SBLP program. He described the adoption of green business practices as a vital step for pursuing growth, noting that it is in step with his original 20-year-old mission statement for EMSEAL, which included striving for and embracing ecological sustainability. This aspect of the mission statement is evidenced by EMSEAL’s 2010 SBANE-award-winning fire-rated, all-in-one EMSHIELD family of products. EMSHIELD products combine all the functions required of wall and floor expansion joint assemblies into a single product, drastically cutting down on material usage while enhancing the acoustic environment and imparting essential life safety requirements of fire containment.