The C.A. Lawton Co. Becomes First Green Tier Participant to Receive Special New Air Permit

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that The C.A. Lawton Co. (Lawton) has officially expanded its Green Tier participation with a new Tier 2 contract. The agreement includes all operations at the De Pere facility and allows Lawton to obtain coverage under the exclusive Green Tier registration permit.

Lawton manufactures large iron castings and machined components for various markets, including commercial air handling, municipal water systems, paper, mining and energy. The company focuses on being an industry leader in sustainability and cutting-edge business practices that respect limited natural resources.

Since joining Green Tier in 2013, Lawton has directed their environmental performance with an environmental management system, gained certification to ISO 14001 and achieved goals for waste reduction, recycling, energy conservation and more. Today is a celebration of Lawton’s accomplishments as they expand their participation.

“We are pleased to see this Green Tier partnership grow,” said Greg Pils, DNR Environmental Analysis And Sustainability Director. “Lawton has a proven record of environmental excellence, and their transition into a Tier 2 contract will provide a structure for continual improvement and will help streamline their air permitting needs. We are excited to share that Lawton will be the first company to obtain coverage under the new Green Tier air permit.”

The DNR’s Green Tier program provides credible recognition to organizations such as Lawton that are committed to going beyond compliance to achieve superior environmental performance and implementation of an environmental management system. Tier 2 participants negotiate individualized contracts with the DNR, which define their environmental performance commitments.

This contract allows Lawton to obtain coverage under the Green Tier Registration Operation Permit (ROP-G), which provides increased thresholds and operational flexibility only to Tier 2 participants. The ROP-G requires that the facility maintain air emission levels below 80% of the major source thresholds.

“Building off of our long-running Beyond Compliance program, we are leveraging our Green Tier 2 status and other dynamics to become an early adopter of the State of Wisconsin’s ROP-G permit option,” said Alex Lawton, Lawton CEO.  “As I have said both privately and publicly before, the state is doing some great work here to innovate and evolve its regulatory framework.  For qualified businesses, this represents improved stakeholder relationships and effective regulation coupled with efficiencies for all parties.  We are glad to be a fit for these developments and delighted to work with the state to get them implemented.”        

More information about Green Tier and Lawton’s participation is available here.