We are proud to be a certified member of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association’s Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP). The ESP program establishes a measurable benchmark for environmental excellence. This certification validates our adherence to high standards for air quality, product resource management, process resource management, environmental stewardship and community relations. Cabinetry by Karman, along with our parent company, Wellborn Cabinet, Inc., have committed to re-certify annually as the program adopts new industry standards and practices. Karman’s demonstrated commitment to the Environmental Stewardship Program offers our consumers the assurance they are purchasing products from a company that values environmental responsibility.
Environmental Compliance
Cabinetry by Karman successfully maintains a perfect environmental compliance record with State and Federal agencies. Additionally, Karman supports sound environmental practices including using green products whenever possible, purchasing recycled materials, minimizing the quantity of waste our processes generate, and responsibly recycling those wastes we are not yet able to eliminate.
Material Use
Cabinetry by Karman is committed to reducing waste through improved use of material. Steps have been added into our manufacturing process, while more time consuming, allow us to reduce our levels of scrapped hardwoods and reduce the amount of material going to our landfills. We have seen a 6.5% improvement in material yield in the last year alone. This equates to approximately 4 tons of material that have been eliminated from our waste stream since 2008.
Indoor Air Quality
The GreenGuard Environmental Institute (GEI) oversees third-party certification programs that identify acceptable product emission standards and certify low-emitting products. This certification provides third-party verification that a product does not exceed low-emitting standards as currently being required by numerous government purchasing and green building programs. We use solvent-based paints which generate very few adverse emissions. Their use reduces exposure to potentially harmful chemicals. Karman also deploys equipment that reduces batch sizes, eliminates paint waste, and recaptures UV topcoat over-spray from used solvents. These materials are recycled internally by Karman and reused in our processes.
Recycling
We have extensively trained our staff in proper recycling practices. We constantly work to assure that our procedures recycle as many raw materials as we can by bench-marking our annual recycling levels and setting and reporting quarterly goals to exceed such each year. Since August of 2009 through today, we have recycled many of the materials that would otherwise have ended up in the landfill stream. We have aggressively set annual goals for recycling the following materials: wood scrap, cardboard and used paper, plastic and scrap metal.