At American RENOLIT, Earth Day is only one day of a year-round effort to create a more sustainable atmosphere in La Porte. This year, in collaboration with the 2022 Earth Day theme “invest in the planet,” the company invested in the education of environmentally friendly practices. In a note to the employees from the company President, Nils Dietz, he stated “We have the desire to each day do a little better than the day before. Our actions now are an investment into our future, as not only a company, but as citizens of the Earth.”
“We started working on it several weeks ago. We made our plans for what we wanted to do here at our La Porte location, then partnered with the city and the schools and tried to make it as beneficial as possible,” said Human Resources Manager Melissa Gruber.
The RENOLIT group manages over 30 locations worldwide and urged each plant to find ways to positively impact its environment in celebration of Earth Day. The La Porte plant decided to dig into the idea, both literally and figuratively.
Employees at American RENOLIT spent the week picking up trash around the outside of the building and planting trees in the community. They also received reusable water bottles and grocery bags to encourage the incorporation of sustainable living into daily routines.
“Sustainability has been a big initiative for us. As we move forward, we want to make sure that we're taking care of the earth. That's why this has been so important to the RENOLIT group as a whole and specifically to us in La Porte,” said Gruber.
Employees were eager to be involved with the project, even during less-than-ideal weather conditions.
“They've been really receptive to it,” Gruber said. “We had several employees from each shift come out and help. It’s a little bit wet today, so we probably would have had a few more employees out there if the weather had been better, but they've definitely been very willing to get out there and doing their part.”
To extend the company’s reach, American RENOLIT partnered with the city of La Porte to plant trees at city hall and Kessling Park.
Additionally, the company partnered with the city of La Porte to teach children about environmentalism. American RENOLIT sponsored an Earth Day bingo game for children under the age of 15 that encouraged participants to make environmentally-friendly decisions. Children could turn in a completed bingo card to the parks department in exchange for a free t-shirt.
American RENOLIT also offered financial support to purchase and install pollination boxes at La Porte schools. The pollination boxes serve as a safe haven for pollinating insects as they develop. Installing these boxes increases the amount of pollination in an area, ensuring cleaner air and a healthier environment.
“It’s a partnership with the schools. Once they have it ready, we'll come out and place them where they're going and talk to the students to be a part of it,” said Gruber.
The team at American RENOLIT knew they had the chance to make a difference not only in their own space but in their community as well. The partnership with the city of La Porte ensured that their reach extended beyond the property lines of the company.
“It's about bringing awareness to the greatest number of people we can,” said Gruber. “That's why we’re partnering with the city of Laporte. We can do a lot here and that affects about 200 people, but if you get the city involved, then more people are seeing it and more people are getting involved and participating in it.”
To learn more about American RENOLIT and its involvement with the La Porte community, visit https://www.renolit.com/en/career/global-careers/american-renolit-corporation-laporte-indiana
