Energy Efficiency & Carbon Offsets:

Knú and Industrial Woodworking Corp. have teamed up with the Carbonfund.org to offset all carbon emitting forms of energy. All electricity, natural gas, air travel and vehicle use is offset using Green-e certified alternative energy credits. This means we can say with certified certainty that we offset 100% of our carbon footprint with wind power for all of our energy needs. See www.carbonfund.org for more information.
Our newest plant addition (occupancy May 2007) will be using F-Bay fluorescent lighting which uses 30% less energy than traditional metal halide lighting and maintains 89.1% foot candle output over the life of the bulbs which have a 20% longer lifespan. Metal Halide only achieves 70% efficiency. Our winter heating is handled by IR heaters which use 23% to 25.5% less fuel than conventional forced air heating methods.
All of our air lines and hoses are checked monthly to ensure that we have no air leaks which are costly and a huge waste of energy.
All of our raw materials come from regional suppliers, 90% are within a 50 mile radius.

Forest Preservation:
Knú does not believe in the marketing of our products using catalogs, all product information will be available in a web only format. All of our competition either sends out one massive catalog or multiple catalogs throughout the year using thousands of tons of tree fibers and chemicals to manufacture glossy paper catalogs that end up in landfills. The Knú philosophy is in this day and age where our potential customers have a computer at their beck and call, sending them a catalog is just plain irresponsible. Not only does the creation of the catalog negatively effect the environment; but so does the delivery and disposal.

Direct mail accounts for 100 million trees per year, which equates to deforesting the entirety of Rocky Mountain National Forest every four months. Only 32 % of all catalogs are recycled, that means that 68 million trees per year end up in our landfills. In 2003, 5.4 million tons of direct mail - enough to fill 420,000 garbage trucks - ended up in the U.S. Municipal solid waste stream. Parked bumper to bumper these garbage trucks would extend from Atlanta to Albuquerque. (From U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, Conservatree and New American Dream)

Environmental Commitment

The cornerstone of IWC's business philosophy is an unyielding commitment to the environment. Stewardship for both our employees and nature is of paramount importance. From customers to suppliers to employees, we are all accountable for our environmental deeds. We sincerely believe that our actions today have far-reaching implications for future generations. IWC staff diligently pursues both internal and external opportunities to move the company toward environmental consciousness and accountability.

Green Purchasing & Sourcing
IWC is dedicated to working with suppliers who have a demonstrated commitment to sustainable resources and low impact raw materials. Our principle board suppliers are certified as green manufacturers. Our suppliers of melamine-covered particleboard are Green Cross certified manufacturers; certified by Scientific Certification Systems. Green Cross certifies that the particleboard and MDF panels are manufactured with recovered and recycled wood fibers. This qualifies toward the US Green Building Council LEED™ Green Building System requirements. Our supplier of natural veneer covered plywood and particleboard carry the Forest Stewardship Council certified eco-label, which also qualifies toward the US Green Building Council LEED™ Green Building System requirements. Our high-pressure laminate suppliers also subscribe to Green manufacturing principles and can qualify for points for LEED™ certification.