5061 Freeway Drive East Columbus, OH 43229 800.869.0632

OPTIMUM COMPANIES
GREEN INIATIVE PROGRAM - PEOPLE, PLANET & PROFITS

Our corporate vision at Optimum is to be a visible and contributing member to the communities we serve by continuing to balance our business profitability needs with the conscientious efforts towards long term protection and enhancement of our natural environment.

Five ways in which Optimum shows our dedication and passionate commitment to environmental stewardship are as follows:

1. Continuous environmental awareness training and education for our team members, clients and stakeholders including sharing information of our sustainability performance.
   
   
2. Proactive recycling program for pollution prevention optimizing new resources and materials for reuse and reduction.
   
   
3. Commitment to minimize our carbon footprint and limit our impact on the environment through energy conservation. Environmental stewardship remains one of our core values!
   
   
4. Non-discriminatory compliance with all employment, environmental, health and safety requirements and regulations.
   
   
5. Providing quality management systems and best practices for continuous improvement in our manufacturing, distribution and business processes whether or not required by regulation.
   

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS TRAINING Optimum encourages social responsibility through employee training on safety and environmental issues. We use a variety of methods to improve environmental awareness which includes our blog articles, mandatory safety training sessions, as well as webinars and seminars on best practices for green businesses. Optimum provides a green program for our customer's and stakeholders to practice in their locations Green Solutions to Bank On!

RECYCLING Optimum helps to protect our natural resources by recycling and using recycled materials in both our plant, offices and our warehouse. We recycle plates, old film, cardboard, paper, plastic, and aluminum. We also recycle computers, inkjet and toner cartridges and other office equipment. Optimum offers recyclable and reusable packaging for our shipments. Also, every pallet in our warehouse is made from reprocessed materials. We have many options for ordering items with post recycled content including over 2,800 of our Optimum System office supply items. All of our papers are purchased from FSC certified companies and we offer to run print jobs on paper made with 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) material.

REDUCING WASTE Optimum uses only carbonless paper, and does not use petroleum or bleach in the production of any paper products that we manufacture. Consumers also have the option to print their orders on thinner paper, which requires fewer trees to produce. We are involved in carbon-offset programs that help to counteract not only deforestation, but also the production of substances that may be harmful to the natural environment.

ENERGY CONSERVATION Optimum encourages employees to conserve energy by keeping the thermostat at a reasonable temperature and shutting down all lights and equipment at the end of the work day. Optimum encourages the use of alternative energy sources by offering envelopes created with wind power. Wind energy is the fastest growing alternate source of electricity in the United States and has a drastic impact on reducing the amount of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, into our atmosphere. Wind Power is beneficial to the ecosystem because wind turbines do not need fuel for operation, and produce no harmful emissions.

MANUFACTURING PRACTICES Our prepress is proud to operate the first chemical-free plate maker in Columbus. Production use of fountain solution for press cleaning is alcohol free. We use soy- or vegetable-based eco friendly inks with low VOC's and contain high renewable soy and vegetable content which requires less ink for full coverage on printed pieces. We encourage sustainable changes in the supply chain through purchasing all paper from FSC certified paper and packaging companies. Optimum is committed to continuous improvement in our manufacturing endeavors by subscribing to the 5S principals of quality. In addition, we are in complete compliance with all environmental, health and safety requirements.

PEOPLE, PLANET & PROFITS At Optimum, we care about the world around us, and are doing our best to preserve it for upcoming generations. We regularly review our corporate environmental practices to reduce ecological loads by efficiently using resources, saving energy, reducing waste and encouraging recycling from our employees, clients and stakeholders. We believe in continuous commitment to environmental stewardship. Through constant ecological awareness, we work together to educate, conserve energy and reduce the amount of waste and toxins in the environment. It's an Optimum trait!