Category Archives: Environment

L&P Transportation is a New SmartWay Partner

We’re proud to announce that L&P Transportation is one of the newest partners of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay program!

EPA’s SmartWay program helps companies advance supply chain sustainability by measuring, benchmarking, and improving freight transportation efficiency.

Participating in the program is the gold standard in the trucking industry. “We’re very proud of this achievement, which highlights our commitment to creating a supply chain that is built on sustainability,” says Jay Witherspoon, VP of Supply Chain. “At L&P Transportation, we care about doing what we can to reduce our environmental footprint.”

If you’re interested in more information about the SmartWay program, you can watch this short video.

Reducing Our Carbon Footprint: Energy Treasure Hunts

At Leggett & Platt, we are committed to being good stewards of the environment. One of the ways we are working toward that goal is by reducing our carbon footprint and energy use. In 2018, we partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Plants program. The program is a national initiative to improve energy efficiency across U.S. industries, including manufacturing.

Since joining the program, three of our facilities have identified energy-saving projects through on-site trainings. We talked with Tamara Cook, Sustainability Director, about our partnership goals with the DOE Better Plants Program and the energy-saving projects across L&P.

Team Members participating in the energy Treasure Hunt at Carthage Spring.

What is our goal in partnering with the DOE Better Plants Program?

We voluntarily committed to this program in 2018 and set a goal to reduce our energy usage in our U.S. facilities by 25% in 10 years. As part of the program, the DOE provides free technical assistance to analyze energy usage in our U.S. facilities. Among other trainings, they offer Energy Treasure Hunts to help train a manufacturing facility to identify and quantify energy-saving opportunities.

What kind of energy savings did you find at the Carthage Spring Treasure Hunt?

In May, we conducted an Energy Treasure Hunt at Branch One (Carthage Spring) in Carthage, Missouri. Carthage Spring has an annual energy cost of about $1.2 million for electricity and natural gas. Through the training, four teams of employees from Branch One and other U.S. Spring locations identified multiple energy-saving projects, resulting in savings of approximately 10% of the overall energy bill—over $100,000! All projects would have a payback period of less than a year and could be implemented by employees at Carthage Spring.

In addition, Branch One is considering installing solar panels on one of its buildings. Solar panels would result in additional electricity cost savings and generate zero-emissions on-site electricity, reducing the Branch’s energy use and carbon footprint if implemented.

What are the next steps for Carthage Spring?

The next steps will include taking action and implementing the identified project opportunities. The Branch may need to modify policies, update preventative maintenance plans, and install or optimize equipment to sustain the projects and eventually see year-over-year savings at the branch.

Additional energy-saving projects and equipment optimization opportunities may still be identified through additional information gathered from data loggers installed on equipment. The DOE will provide a final report that summarizes all potential options for Carthage Spring in the coming weeks.

Are there plans to have Energy Treasure Hunts at other L&P locations? 

Teams from several U.S. Spring branches participated in the Branch One Treasure Hunt. By participating, they learned how to conduct an energy treasure hunt. These teams can now return to their locations and share their knowledge and best practices to implement trainings and find their own energy-saving projects.

The DOE has regular application processes for the free Energy Treasure Hunts. Branches can also conduct a hunt independently, and the DOE’s website provides instructions on hosting an Energy Treasure Hunt. If your U.S. or international branch is interested in learning how to conduct a Treasure Hunt, please contact the Sustainability team, and we can provide you with these online resources and assist in coordinating an event.

Congratulations to the Carthage Spring Team and Branch Manager, Kile Lesmeister, for doing their part to be good stewards of the environment and working together to better our culture of sustainability!

Eco-Friendly Action Challenge in Japan

Recently, our team in Japan challenged one another to do eco-friendly actions in honor of Earth Day.

Team members could choose to go paperless, conserve energy, recycle, and review their transportation methods. Once they made an effort towards one of the actions, they drew a smiley face next to it.

We want to say thank you to our team in Japan for doing great work together and caring for the environment!

Community Cleanup Day at Spühl

With eagle eyes, trash grabbers, and — despite the unpredictable April weather — a good mood, four teams from our Spühl location picked up trash around Wittenbach, Switzerland, in honor of Earth Day.

The teams removed more than 10 kilograms (approximately 22 pounds) of residual waste and a bag full of glass! When they were finished, they celebrated with a grilled bratwurst and a drink.

We want to say thank you to our teams at Spühl for their commitment to helping keep our communities clean!

“Success is Showing That We Care”

Our Home Furniture team in Kendallville, Indiana, recently came together to celebrate Earth Day and appreciate one another’s hard work.

After a tornado halted production at one of our locations in Mississippi, some of our branches increased production to help out, and the Kendallville branch was one of them. “We decided to roll our celebrations into a big thank you!” says Jess Morris, Human Resources Manager at Kendallville.

To celebrate, the team enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, and could choose from a mix of perennial plants — tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and grape hyacinths — to take home. The appreciation note next to the plants says, “Just like plants need water to grow, we need you to be successful! Thank you for your hard work and dedication to our team.”

At Kendallville, “Success is showing that we care, not only for our customers, but for our partners and our environment as well,” says Jess. “We take pride in our work, we stand beside one another, and we take care of our environment by being a zero-landfill facility. We recycle and reuse everything we can to help lessen our carbon footprint.”

Thank you to our team in Kendallville for your commitment to care for one another and the environment!

L&P Sustainability: Forestry

At L&P, we are committed to the responsible use of raw materials, which includes the wood we use in our various bedding products.

In 2022, our U.S. Spring business’s spend with Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)-certified sources increased by approximately 4% to 76%, compared to 2021. We are also increasing the use of FSC®-certified wood products in our Work Furniture business to help our customers achieve their sustainability goals. 

Read more about our sustainability efforts here: Leggett & Platt 2023 Sustainability Report

L&P Sustainability: Flooring Products

At L&P, our businesses are building sustainability into product development processes and designing products for improved durability, recovery, and recycling at end of life. 

Our Flooring Products business manufactures carpet underlay products that make a direct contribution towards LEED green building certification for our customers. All products can be 100% recycled at the end of their useful life and exceed the CRI Green Label Plus test program. Green Label Plus is an independent testing program that identifies carpet, adhesive, and cushion products with very low volatile organic compounds emissions to help improve indoor air quality and helps our customers achieve LEED green building certification. 

Read more about our sustainability efforts here: Leggett & Platt 2023 Sustainability Report

Investing in Our L&P Communities: Trinity River Waterwheels Initiative

Leggett & Platt believes in supporting the communities where we live and work. With that goal at heart, L&P is sponsoring the Trinity River Waterwheels Initiative in Fort Worth, Texas.

This initiative seeks to install large, solar-powered litter capture devices, or “waterwheels,” in the Trinity River. Waterwheels are a proven, sustainable, lower-cost technology to clean waterways. A waterwheel can remove up to 50,000 pounds of litter per day – about the size of two and a half garbage trucks. Removing the waste protects the water quality, improves the aesthetic and usability of the river, and improves the aquatic ecosystem for fish and wildlife.

“The Trinity River provides 710 miles of habitat, drinking water, tourism, and recreation,” said Juli Ragland, Environmental Program Manager for the City of Fort Worth. “The impact of this project will reach beyond Fort Worth and the metroplex and provide a cleaner river to the Gulf of Mexico.”

Mr. Trash Wheel, the first waterwheel created in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Trinity River Waterwheels initiative aligns with our L&P commitment to being good stewards of the environment and our company’s value of doing great work together.

“We are excited to be part of the solution to reduce litter in the City of Fort Worth through our support of the Trinity River Waterwheels Initiative,” said Tamara Cook, L&P’s Sustainability Director. “The Waterwheels will benefit the Fort Worth community and communities beyond by collecting trash and litter from the Trinity River.”

The Waterwheels Initiative also aligns with our commitment to being good partners in the communities where we operate. Leggett has produced carpet padding in the Fort Worth area for over 50 years and works hard to create sustainable solutions with our products. In our Flooring business, we manufacture carpet cushion products that are certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label Plus and help customers achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification. Each year, we incorporate several hundred million pounds of recycled urethane foam in our production of bonded carpet cushion.

“Supporting the Waterwheels initiative and recycling foam to make new carpet cushion products are excellent examples of how L&P is supporting positive environmental impacts in the Fort Worth community,” concludes Tamara.

To learn more about the Trinity River Waterwheels Initiative and follow along as they plan construction for the first Waterwheel in Fort Worth, visit their website. And to learn more about our Environmental, Social, and Governance efforts, visit www.leggett.com/sustainability.

Happy Earth Day!

April 22 is Earth Day — a day for us to invest in our future by investing in our planet.

While we come from many cultures, Earth Day reminds us of our shared responsibility and commitment to care for our mutual home. Together, we can draw inspiration from one another to care for the environment and take action to promote a sustainable future for everyone, everywhere.

2023 Sustainability Report

At L&P, our mission is to build businesses and a culture that are sustainable for generations to come.

We recently published our 2023 Sustainability Report, which provides information about our approach to and performance on the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters that are most important to our business. As we move through 2023, our key ESG initiatives include:

  • Developing and communicating ESG goals, including climate-related targets.
  • Establishing a roadmap of actions that will support us in meeting our ESG goals and targets.
  • Obtaining third-party limited assurance of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data and publicly reporting our data.
  • Advancing our ID&E efforts as outlined in more detail in our report.
  • Building upon our management systems to improve data collection and contribute to broader companywide sustainability advancements.
  • Continuing to enhance our supplier assessment process, including a heightened emphasis on labor and social standards and cybersecurity controls.
  • Maintaining our commitment to transparency and continuing to share our corporate sustainability approach and performance.

Thank you for your support as we continue to build and report on our sustainable practices. Read our full Sustainability Report here: 2023 Sustainability Report