Cascade is serious about sustainability

If your company is serious about sustainability, check out how injection molder Cascade Engineering Inc. treats the subject. The company puts out an annual "Triple Bottom Line" report, which measures its environmental and social goals -- something that's fairly unique to the firm's DNA. Here's a link to a copy of Cascade's 2009 report (warning, it's a big PDF file), which looks like something that a far larger company would create. The report includes information on a variety of programs, like its Welfare-to-Career program (with 95 percent retention, which is a "down" year for Cascade), ways it encourages its employees to get and stay healthy, and graphs on its water consumption rate, recycling efforts, and energy usage. Just about anything that could be quantified is listed here. There's lots of information in there for companies looking at measures of sustainability, and for those looking at "social" costs. Cascade made headlines today with news that the Grand Rapids, Mich., molder is investing $2.8 million in its Cascade Renewable Energy division, and expects to hire up to 183 more people for the unit during the next five years.