Sustainability fits seamlessly into our culture and operations. Since our inception, we have served our customers and grown not because we were interested in short-term gain, but because we have always sought to build for the long term and to do the right thing. The guiding principles we developed to these ends were a natural prelude to our embrace of sustainability.
We strive for continuous improvement while making social responsibility a top priority. Sustainability encompasses all these values simultaneously.
Our approach to sustainability is demonstrated through continual
improvement of our operations, products, and the actions of our team
members — advancing stewardship of the environment, our communities, and
the growth of tomorrow.
It starts with these areas of concentration and the initiatives we’ve launched in each:
LEED® Gold Certified
In 2011, the decision was made to renovate Raven’s Headquarters building to convert it to appealing and usable office space to attract top talent, keep talent, revitalize Downtown Sioux Falls, and improve the community. Early in the process, Raven chose to seek LEED® Gold Certification with the renovation. The design process focused heavily on sustainable building practices.
We now consume a third less energy than we did prior to renovations.
Our HVAC systems do not use CFC or Halon refrigerants.
Our low-flow lav faucets and toilets equate to a 41% savings in water consumption.
We have a “green” roof composed of living plants on our rooftop patio to provide water filtration, improve heat efficiency, and bolster team member enjoyment.
During renovations, 98% of exterior walls and structural elements were left intact, saving resources and showcasing a treasured historic building.
This site uses water tanks to collect rainwater for landscape irrigation.
We have taken this further with the addition of LED light integration, reducing energy consumption and promoting sustainable lighting practices throughout the building.
As we continue to grow and expand, we will consciously plan and seek LEED® Certification on renovation and new construction projects. We will continue to be innovative in designing resource-conservation features into the architecture.
Many of our products serve industries that make a profound impact on our environment. We help mitigate these effects through precision, capture, and containment methods.
A critical part of precision agriculture involved maximizing yields while minimizing chemical product use. This starts with precise chemical applications. Our application control technology promotes good stewardship and sustainability in the ag industry by making sure that the right product is applied at the right time in the right place, reducing environmental impact by saving excess chemicals and money.
Through a spirit of innovation and a progressive look toward our future, we are designing products to optimize sustainability in their materials used, manufacturing footprint, packaging, and end-of-life existence.
We have made great strides in reducing the amount of paper Raven consumes through conversion to electronic files. Team members are encouraged to review their processes and documentation for ways to eliminate paper waste in a meaningful way. We make recycling a top priority.
Raven recycles more than just paper, too. Co-located, single-stream recycling bins are available throughout our facilities, from all team member desks to common areas and conference rooms. We ask the same of any community groups utilizing our space, and we require recycling at all events hosted on our property.
Sustainability is a Calling
As with our development as business leaders, community leaders, and individual leaders, this is not an exercise that will ever conclude. After all, improvement and growth are the nature of leadership. We are not perfect, but we are deeply committed to continuous improvement in our impact on the environment.
Sustainability integrates our efforts with our customers, communities, and team members in a new and vital way. And the reverse is true, too: sustainability is something our partners can embrace with us.
If sustainability is a call to leadership, we invite you to join us and answer it.
