Our latest infographic, “Making Commercial Restrooms Carbon Neutral,” explains how Sloan offsets the carbon footprint generated by our products. By planting trees, we are able to offset an equal amount of carbon that our products create.
Why do we consider carbon neutrality important? Giving many of our products a zero net carbon footprint helps mitigate the impacts of atmospheric carbon on our climate and our environment.
Evidence of atmospheric carbon impacting the world’s weather systems has been sobering:
- The U.S. experienced a record number of tornadoes in the first three months of 20231.
- In July, European heatwaves saw temperatures hit all-time record highs in Greece, Italy, Spain, and France2.
- The week of July 3-10 was the hottest ever recorded3.
- Canada has already surpassed its record for the largest area burned by wildfires in a single year4.
- Recent wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui are the deadliest in U.S. history5.
These extreme weather examples are the strongest evidence yet that atmospheric carbon is altering our climate. They’re also strong reasons for making carbon neutrality an even higher priority.
In addition to conserving the environment, many organizations buy carbon neutral products because their customers and employees prefer it. 75% of millennials say that they consider sustainability when they make a purchase6, and 68% of jobseekers are more willing to accept positions from environmentally sustainable companies7.
How Carbon Neutrality Helps Combat Warming Temperatures
At Sloan, we carefully assess the quantity of carbon generated and released into the atmosphere during the processes of sourcing, manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of our products. This quantity is the product’s cradle-to-grave carbon footprint, and we’re committed to neutralizing that carbon.
That’s why we plant 2.5 trees for every flushometer we manufacture—and invest in similar offsets for other carbon-neutral Sloan products. But trees don’t just absorb carbon dioxide from the air—they also store carbon in their tissues, where it can remain for centuries.
In addition to the cooling effect of removing carbon from the atmosphere, trees also help regulate temperatures by providing shade and evaporative cooling, which helps reduce the “heat island effect” in urban areas8.
Planting Trees Does More than Fight Climate Change
We partner with the Arbor Day Foundation® to purchase reforestation credits that offset our carbon footprint. These verified, registered reforestation credits help plant trees in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley forestry project.
Sloan’s carbon offsets go toward reforestation efforts in the Foundation’s Mississippi River Alluvial Valley forestry project, which the Foundation calls “one of the most important critical wetland resources on the North American continent” and a “vital habitat for migratory birds and numerous plants and animal species.”
Making our products carbon neutral doesn’t just fight climate change—it helps restore a vital North American wetland and helps provide numerous additional benefits.
In addition to removing carbon from the atmosphere, newly planted trees help:
- Improve water quality
- Improve air quality
- Help control flooding and stabilize soil
- Restore wildlife habitats
- Create jobs
We’re proud that the trees we help to plant accomplish so much.
More Sustainable Commercial Restroom Innovations
Offering carbon neutral products is just one way Sloan reduces our impact on the environment. We’ve long made water-saving commercial restroom innovation a priority, helping property owners and managers, architects, designers, and engineers reduce water usage to save money and protect one of the world’s most vital natural resources.
Fresh water is, of course, vital to all life on earth, but many people don’t realize how scarce fresh water actually is. The U.S. Geological Survey has calculated that, if you could put the world’s entire supply of available fresh water in one place, it would form a “drop” just 35 miles across9.
As the droughts and mega-droughts of recent years have demonstrated, that tiny amount of fresh water often doesn’t reach areas that desperately need it. That’s why we help preserve it however we can.
Water savings and carbon neutrality are just two ways Sloan innovation protects the environment. Would you like more information and ideas for making your next commercial restroom project as environmentally friendly as possible? Contact Sloan!
1—https://www.rms.com/blog/2023/04/26/a-record-start-to-the-2023-us-tornado-season
2—https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/19/heatwaves-set-more-records-across-europe-asia-and-usa
3—https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/preliminary-data-shows-hottest-week-record-unprecedented-sea-surface-temperatures-and
4—https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65816466
5—https://www.reuters.com/world/us/maui-inferno-what-are-deadliest-wildfires-us-history-2023-08-13
6—https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15087-consumers-want-sustainable-products.html
7—https://www.esgtoday.com/ibm-survey-employees-more-likely-to-accept-jobs-from-sustainable-companies/
8—https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/reduce-urban-heat-island-effect
9—https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/all-earths-water-a-single-sphere
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