Bostik’s recent opening of its expanded Business and Technology Center for the Americas in Wauwatosa, WI, benefitted not only the company but also local charities and the environment.

The two-year project, which consolidated Bostik’s administrative and research and development functions from multiple facilities to the expanded facility in Wauwatosa, produced an excess of office furniture and furnishings in need of disposal. Bostik was determined to divert as much of this material as possible from landfills while benefiting charitable organizations where possible.

By contracting with the rePurpose program of Herman-Miller and with Green Standards to manage the removal of the furnishings, Bostik was able to keep 100% of the surplus material from landfills. Two-thirds was donated to five different charities in the Milwaukee area: Habitat for Humanity, Community Care Inc., Center for Resilient Cities, COA Youth and Family Centers, and the Center for Communication, Hearing and Deafness. The remaining third was recycled. 

In addition to the philanthropic benefits to the charities listed above, Green Standards calculated the environmental savings of diverting more than 10 tons of material from landfills, including a reduction of more than 50 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which translates into conserving 5,628 gallons of gasoline and generating air quality benefits equal to that of 1,287 trees grown for 10 years.

“Bostik takes pride in the project’s charitable and environmental results, which are in keeping with one of our core “Bostik way” values – Sustainability,” says Bob Marquette, Americas senior vice president. “We see it as equally important that our actions reflect this value in the same way we live this value in the development and application of advanced technology solutions for our customers.”