We believe it is our duty to protect the environment for future generations. For this reason, we take measures to reduce our water consumption, energy usage and waste generated, including refuse, product packaging and process-derived waste streams. Over the last five years, Atmus has invested $6.6M in facility, environment, safety and security capital improvement projects and has reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 11% through a combination of capital investment and low-cost/no-cost initiatives.

Conserving water

Atmus Filtration Technologies continually measures and monitors water consumption as part of our ongoing commitment to reducing water usage. We have reduced our water consumption by 22% by improving facility infrastructure and processes and by eliminating single-pass cooling and irrigation systems.

Using less water at our facilities and in our manufacturing process helps keep the environment healthy by diverting less water from natural water sources and by reducing the amount of energy required for water and wastewater treatment. Our main areas of focus are eliminating fresh water used for irrigation, investing in the upgrade of our site infrastructures and improving process efficiency.

Some of our operations are in regions subject to water stress and shortage. A recent project at our filtration plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, replaced the intensively water-consuming garden with native plants requiring zero irrigation. Learn about our Desert Garden Project.

Reducing waste

Since 2018, we have reduced our total waste generation by 18% and have increased our waste recycling rate by 9% (from 83% to 92%), with three of our manufacturing sites achieving ‘zero waste to landfill’ status (100% recycling rate). All our manufacturing sites are certified to ISO14001 Environmental Management System Standard to drive continual improvement projects that reduce our environmental impact on the local community and our planet. ISO14001 requires that we have a robust framework in place to control and continuously improve our performance. 

Our goal is to proactively reduce waste generation and identify opportunities to reuse and recycle any waste at our sites. We are:

  • Eliminating single use plastics in cafes, at events and in employee amenity areas
  • Eliminating ‘problematic plastics' which are those that cannot be reused or recycled
  • Tightening process efficiency by implementing Industry 4.0 manufacturing practices, holding suppliers accountable, reusing materials and implementing responsible onsite recycling

Want to see this in action? Read about our manufacturing process waste initiative with our filter media. 

An important part of our work is creating a positive health, safety and environment (HSE) culture to engage our employees at work and in their homes in efforts to reduce our environmental impact. Employees take part in initiatives such as the ‘Environment Month’ campaign (now in its ninth year) and a significant number have completed Environmental Champion training, increasing overall competence and awareness.

Minimizing energy use

Our approach to reducing energy use includes:

  • Developing strategies to conserve energy in our facilities and at our manufacturing sites
  • Delivering energy-conscious products to our customers

Five of our larger facilities are certified to ISO50001 Energy Management System Standard, requiring an extra level of control and improvement. We have installed renewable energy solar panel arrays at three of our facilities. In San Luis Potosí, Mexico, for example, solar panels were installed to reduce the use of local electricity, with more of our sites planning to invest in solar panels over the next five years. In addition, we have installed energy-efficient boilers at our plant in Cookeville, Tennessee, and upgraded our air handling systems to conserve energy at our plant in Neillsville, Wisconsin. 

For our customers, we continue to deliver technology solutions that enable the adoption of cleaner and more efficient energy sources in their operations. To this end, we have expanded our product range to serve new sources of energy (electric, natural gas, fuel cell) to help reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Furthermore, our innovative product design enables customers to extend service intervals, thereby reducing resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

In our product development processes, our intent is to select design and production strategies that enable energy conservation. To reduce raw material and energy consumption, we use a selection of recycled materials in our media and use specialized media in some of our products to eliminate the need for curing ovens. 

Find out more about our other initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint or learn about our sustainable product technologies.