Plastics Design & Manufacturing Inc., a profile extruder and thermoformer, was recently presented with an Award for Environmental Stewardship from its home town, the city of Centennial, Colo.

The 32-year-old company in 2001 "made a commitment to begin reducing our carbon footprint and outlined an Environmental Policy Statement, listing what we could do to become a greener company," it said in a news release. Here's a list of some of the things it came up with:

• PDM offered our employees staggered work shifts and a 4 day work week.
• Home offices have been set up for several employees who were not crucial to daily manufacturing.
• Encouraged and supported carpooling among employees.
• The landscaping has been modified minimizing the grassy areas around the facility to reduce the need for watering.
• On the manufacturing floor the company installed high volume fans to circulate fresh air though out the building.
• To reduce the need for artificial lighting, the company installed over 40 rooftop skylights allowing sunlight to shine throughout the building thereby reducing energy usage.
• In 2008, PDM will install an energy management system that reduces amount of non-productive current thereby reducing lost and wasted power by 20 percent.
• PDM recycles more than 90 percent of the plastic scrap leftover from manufacturing. The recycled material is either reused by PDM or sold to other companies for reuse.

Future plans include, installing a solar system by the end of 2008, which the company expects to generate up to 15 percent of its useable energy.

PDM makes Peak Fence Systems, a plastic fence made from 100 percent post-industrial waste. Congratulations to PDM for winning this local recognition.