Nearly 200 Milwaukee-area executives attended the second annual Green Manufacturing Summit in February, presented by Bradley Corp., in partnership with Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Architects, engineers, and business and community leaders shared sustainable strategies.    

A common theme of the summit, held at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Milwaukee, was how operational savings from reducing use of energy, water and other natural resources offsets the initial investment of becoming green.

Kim Marotta, vice president, corporate social responsibility at MillerCoors, presented a case study that examined the company’s water, energy and carbon footprint reductions throughout its supply chain. A panel discussion focused on ways companies can reduce their corporate water footprint and employ other water usage and efficiency strategies. Other sessions offered tips on making an energy assessment and cutting energy costs; suggested how to apply and adapt quality improvement techniques to the use of energy and water; explained the benefits of LEED for Existing Buildings; discussed new integrated lighting systems that use less energy without compromising operations; examined the impacts of life cycle assessment and materials selection on the manufacturing process; outlined strategies for implementing Environmental Protection Management Systems; and pointed out the bottom line benefits of green cleaning.