Sustainability

​At Shoto Corporation we know that making a “Greener” product is an important part of sustainability in our industry. However, a “Green” product is the result of a process dedicated toward environmentally friendly efforts and initiatives throughout the manufacturing process.

OUR PRODUCTS


At Shoto we make table tops, work surfaces, and laminated panel products for the commercial, hospitality, educational and health care market segments. The greatest portion of our products consists of a high- pressure laminate face and backing sheet affixed to a substrate with wood, PVC or vinyl edge treatments.

Environmentally friendly materials used in the process include:

FACE LAMINATES

Our face laminates are available with Greenguard or SCS (Green Cross) Certification. Forest Stewardship Council ® (FSC ® ) certified laminates are also available.

CORE/SUBSTRATE MATERIAL

Many of our substrates have environmentally friendly components, including being California Air Resources Board – Phase 2 certified for reduced formaldehyde emissions. Many also include SCS certification, which includes a minimum of 90% pre-consumer recycled wood content.

BACKING SHEETS

Backing sheets also carry Greenguard certification and FSC ® certified backing sheets are also available.

ADHESIVE

Plastic laminate and backing sheet are bonded to the substrate using a water-based environmentally friendly cross-linking adhesive containing no added urea formaldehyde.

TABLE BASES

Table bases are manufactured from steel containing a minimum recycled content material of 30%, then powder-coated, which eliminates solvents and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) from the finishing process. Table bases can be recycled at the end of their useful term.

FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL® (FSC® ) Certification

Shoto Corporation has been an FSC ® Certified manufacturer since 2009, a distinction that denotes Shoto as a manufacturer committed to responsible forestry, and the use of responsible wood materials in the manufacturing of its products. Please contact a Shoto Corporation representative regarding inquiries about our FSC ® certified products available.

LEED CREDITS

Many of the products we use in our process also carry LEED credits from the U.S. Green Building Council, an organization that has set many of the benchmarks for environmental sustainability in the building products industry.

OUR PROCESS


Making a “Green” product means more from a manufacturer like Shoto Corporation when that company is committed to “Green” Processes. Shoto is continually investigating and reviewing the latest in technologies, procedures, and equipment in order to minimize the impact our processes have upon the environment.

Here are just a few of the efforts in our process that we undertake to lessen the impact our manufacturing has upon the environment:

AIR QUALITY

From daily monitoring of our discharges to the use of the latest in spray finish tools and technologies, to efforts to minimize ambient dust we continue to seek the latest and best ideas for preserving the quality of our air, both within our plants for our talented workforce, and outside of our plants for the rest of our community.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

We employ variable frequency drive components in connection with a number of our systems as a means of ramping down energy consumption to precisely match necessary demand. We have performed a complete replacement of the lighting system in our plants in order to decrease energy consumption. We are employing contractors to locate and isolate our greatest sources of energy demand with an eye toward minimizing either the consumption or the impact of the consumption on our overall needs.

WASTE REDUCTION

We have employed numerous techniques to limit the waste generated by our facilities. A large portion of our solid wood waste is converted and used for home heating rather than being land filled. We re-use packaging materials wherever possible, including building returnable crates and skids, and recycled paper based packaging materials throughout the process. We have committed to a raw material yield management strategy well ahead of our competitors in the industry, and through the skill and training of our staff have reduced the need for rework to a fraction of industry averages.

OUR PEOPLE


At Shoto we know that “Green” is not only good sense, but good business as well. This attitude pervades our organization…an organization where a culture of environmental sustainability is championed by all. Our staff continues to impress us with new and innovative ideas as to how we can build both a better and a “Greener” product.