Brunswick Corporation recognizes winners of Inaugural Employee Sustainability Leadership Awards
by Brunswick 26 Jan 2022 16:37 UTC
Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) is pleased to announce the winners of its inaugural Sustainability Leadership Awards, which celebrate the company's commitment to sustainable, responsible practices by recognizing outstanding environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused contributions of individuals and teams at Brunswick facilities around the world.
The Brunswick Sustainability Leadership Award Program was established in memory of Kevin Grodzki, Brunswick's longtime ESG champion, who pioneered Brunswick's Sustainability initiatives over many years.
"We understand the impact our business has on the world and the opportunities we have to lead the way in sustainable, responsible practices," said Brunswick CEO David Foulkes. "Kevin had the foresight to chart the course of our sustainability strategy, and this is one way we can honor his legacy while driving the momentum he ignited - by recognizing and rewarding our employees' relentless pursuit of the sustainable future he envisioned."
Brunswick employees around the world nominated sustainability initiatives across four categories (People, Products, Energy and Environment), which were reviewed by a panel of company leaders based on criteria that evaluated each initiative's innovation, complexity, ESG impact metrics and project execution. Ultimately, Brunswick selected two inaugural award winners, each will direct grant funds to sustainability-focused nonprofit organizations.
Brunswick's 2021 Sustainability Leadership Award winners are:
Overall Sustainability Leadership Award: Navico Project Point Nemo
Navico, part of Brunswick's Advanced Systems Group, is a leading global marine electronics company selling products under the Lowrance®, Simrad®, B&G®, and C-MAP® brands, which established a global cross-functional team to design and produce eco-friendly packaging for new products. Styrofoam was replaced with alternative and compostable materials such as molded pulp. Plastic protective bags were replaced with Aquapak's Hydropol™ bags made from polymers that are specially engineered to be non-toxic, marine-safe and soluble in hot water. As a result of Project Point Nemo's extensive research and design efforts, Navico expanded the initiative across its product portfolio and will have fully removed all plastic, Styrofoam and Instapak materials from its product packaging by the end of 2022. With its initial efforts, Navico estimated it would eliminate nearly 400,000 plastic bags, 500,000 plastic clamshell packages and more than 200,000 plastic inserts each year. This project will serve as a foundation for similar packaging initiatives across the Advanced Systems Group and Brunswick.
The Navico Project Point Nemo team will direct its sustainable grant funds to World Resources Institute, a global research nonprofit working on six critical goals that the world must achieve this decade in order to secure a sustainable future: climate, energy, food, forests, water, cities and transport.
Individual Sustainability Leadership Award: Scott Louks, Mercury Marine
Scott has spent more than 11 years devoted to championing sustainability initiatives within Brunswick's Mercury Marine division, leading the company to 11 consecutive Green Masters designations from the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council, which measures companies on a broad range of sustainability categories ranging from energy and water conservation to waste management, community outreach and education. Under Scott's guidance, Mercury has achieved all of its original long-range sustainability goals, including a 45% decrease in energy use, 35% reduced water use and 58% reduced hazardous waste byproducts, while also reducing energy and water use by 14 and 13%, respectively. In 2021, he helped to implement a solar array at the company's global headquarters in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, while guiding two significant Mercury distribution centers in their achievement of "zero waste to landfill" status.
Scott will direct his sustainable grant funds to Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance - Winnebago Waterways, an independent, non-profit organization that works to protect and restore the water resources of the Fox-Wolf River Basin in Wisconsin.
In 2021, Brunswick was recognized multiple times for its ESG initiatives, including being named to Forbes' lists of America's Best Employers for Women, America's Best Employers for Diversity, and America's Best Employers for Veterans. Newsweek recently named the Company to its 2022 list of America's Most Responsible Companies and Brunswick was ranked in the Top 10 on the Forbes America's Best Large Employers list, placing first in the Engineering and Manufacturing Category. Additionally, Mercury Marine, Brunswick's largest division, has earned 11 consecutive Green Masters designations for sustainable business practices and initiatives from the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council.
For more information about Brunswick's sustainability strategy, performance, and progress, visit here.