Torgerson Properties is committed to protecting the environment, the health and safety of our employees, and the environmental condition of the communities in which we conduct business. It is our policy to work to implement improvements throughout our business operations to lessen the impact on the local and global environment by conserving energy, water, and other natural resources; reducing waste generation; recycling and purchasing recycled products; and reducing our use of toxic materials. We are committed to improving our methods of pollution prevention and meeting or exceeding all environmental regulatory requirements. We are also committed to a Continuous Improvement Process in an effort to attain a higher degree of environmental stewardship through the development and maintenance of an Environmental Management Plan intended to further reduce environmental impacts of our business operations.
Torgerson Properties Environmentally Preferable Product and Vendor Purchasing Policy (EPPVPP):
Preference shall be given to suppliers whose products have environmentally friendly attributes that maximize Post Consumer Recycled content, minimize toxicity and packaging, or have any other environmentally preferable attributes, with minimal sacrifice to price, quality, delivery requirements, and the ultimate satisfaction of our guests.
Our Environmental Management Plan (EMP):
1) Each Torgerson properties location has a designated Environmental Impact Representative as a measure of accountability to our process. In addition, we are carefully assembling an Environmental Impact Board (TPI's"Green Team"). This Board is comprised of an assortment of our corporate staff and selected property level Environmental Impact Representatives. This team meets on a bi-annual basis to measure our performance against our Environmental Mission Statement, engage in our Continuous Improvement Process, and to aide in advancing our EMP efforts in the area of reducing the Environmental Impact of our businesses on the environment.
2) We are in process of seeking Environmental Assessments or Certifications in the areas of Energy Efficiency, Waste Reduction, Water Conservation and Clean Air Practices. The following agencies we are reaching out to are: Energy Star, Green Seal, Waste Wise, Buy Recycled Business Alliance, Clean Air Minnesota Water and CHAMPS/Water Wiser. In addition, we will be requesting best practices and audits from these organizations as well as our Utility providers.
3) We are developing and will employ a prevention strategy to eliminate or reduce a number of forms of hazardous or solid waste, wastewater discharge, and air emission.
4) We are determining and will implement measures to increase energy efficiency across our properties.
5) We are determining water conservation measures and have begun implementing "green" landscaping techniques in each of our new developments. We are also investigating "Xeriscaping" techniques across our portfolio of properties.
6) Our environmental commitment will reach across our entire organization. On an annual basis each of our Associates will receive training to promote waste/pollution prevention, reuse, recycling and resource conservation. In addition, we will develop and offer an employee incentive program that rewards our Associates for practical solutions to our Environmental Mission.
7) A $12,000 Annual Environmental Foundation will be established to financially support our environmental mission within the communities that we do business. Torgerson Properties will accept applications for community based Environmental Projects which are, in turn, reviewed and approved by our Environmental Impact Board. Clearly, not all applications will be approved and the grants will be awarded on the merit of the initiative as it relates to our Mission. These grants will be awarded on a monthly basis, at a rate of $1,000 per month, and will be in the form of either two $500 awards or one $1,000 award.
