MADISON - September 27, 2007 -- Today Arandell Corporation of Menomonee Falls was welcomed into the state's Green Tier program, which provides regulatory and publicity incentives to organizations that voluntarily achieve superior environmental performance.
Representatives of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other state officials welcomed Arandell Corporation with a celebration today at the State Capitol.  "As an individual company, Arandell has proven itself a leader in environmental thinking within the printing industry.  The company's accomplishments in the last few years speak for themselves," said DNR Secretary Matthew Frank.
"More importantly, Wisconsin is becoming the state for green printing.  Green Tier is a young and growing program, but printers clearly are seeing value to both their businesses and the environment by going beyond compliance."
Arandell specializes in printing high-quality catalogs at its Menomonee Falls facility, measuring 566,000 square feet.  Prior to joining Green Tier, the company recycled more than 43 million pounds of paper, aluminum, plastic film and inks.  By switching to a new lighting system, Arandell saves 1.8 million kilowatt-hours annually.  Arandell also reduced its emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by 20 tons after it installed new press wash systems.  Arandell's reduction of VOCs curbs the amount of ozone produced in southeastern Wisconsin and helps the region to address its ozone non-attainment status.
In response to being accepted to the Green Tier program, Don Treis, Arandell CEO said, "I'm very proud of the mutual efforts of our associates and those of the Wisconsin DNR. This achievement demonstrates how the combined workings of industry and state governments can result in a positive environmental impact."
As a Green Tier participant, Arandell pledges to add to its environmental performance.  The company will target reductions in water and energy usage as well as greenhouse gas emissions.  Arandell will identify new methods for continually reducing its VOC emissions, and pledges to reuse or recycle 100 percent of the silver and nickel used.  Arandell will also continue its certification by the Forest Stewardship Council and continue using paper originating from sustainably managed forests.
Green Tier was signed into law in 2004 to encourage a collaborative approach to environmental performance between the DNR and Wisconsin businesses.  As part of Green Tier, Wisconsin organizations voluntarily commit to reducing their environmental footprint by developing and implementing environmental management systems.  These systems act as a roadmap, presenting organizations the opportunity to adopt new technologies and practices to continually improve their environmental performance.
Arandell is a Tier 1 participant in Green Tier.  In exchange for a commitment to superior environmental performance, the DNR grants benefits to Tier 1 participants including deferred civil enforcement, a single point of contact within the department, the use of the Green Tier logo on written materials, and annual public recognition of participation.
For more information on Green Tier and Arandell, visit the DNR Web site's Green Tier page at http://greentier.wi.gov.