As part of Cox Enterprises, Manheim is committed to being a good steward of the environment. Launched in 2007 by Chairman Jim Kennedy, Cox Conserves is Cox Enterprises' national sustainability program. Cox Conserves focuses on reducing waste and energy consumption, embracing renewable forms of energy, conserving natural resources, and inspiring eco-friendly behavior.
This program has established important goals for the Cox family of companies:
Carbon Neutral by 2034
Water Neutral by 2034
Zero Waste to Landfill by 2024
These challenging goals demonstrate our commitment to being thoughtful stewards of the environment, while searching for innovative ways to grow our business responsibly.
At Manheim, we've made many positive contributions, but there are still opportunities to make a significant difference. Our {go green} platform plays an important role in the Cox Conserves program, and is the core of sustainability at Manheim. Our areas of focus include energy, water and waste and how to engage our customers. In 2013, we formed a collaborative {go green} Council, made up of employees from various regions and departments, to help guide projects and initiatives for our company.
Employees are also engaged in river and shoreline cleanups through our national partnerships with American Rivers and the Ocean Conservancy.
Here are some of Manheim’s sustainability achievements to date:
- Water Conservation Centers at Manheim Georgia and Manheim Pennsylvania: Combined, the two centers treat 57,000 gallons of wastewater per day and remove 92 tons of contaminants annually, returning cleaner water to the system than was originally used. Both locations reduce the company's daily water demand by 60 percent.
- Photovoltaic solar installations: 15 locations have implemented solar panels, which collectively prevent more than 6,500 tons of carbon from entering the environment. The largest solar installation at Manheim New England will save 3,005 tons of carbon a year, providing enough energy to power 404 homes a year.
- Outdoor lighting systems: Many locations now use lower wattage exterior lamps with new control systems that allow 50 percent dimming or perform multi-fixture pole switching. These projects have saved more than 4 million KWh of energy per year. That’s enough energy to supply power to more than 360 homes for an entire year.
- Water-based paint: 11 locations have switched from solvent-based to water-based paint, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent at each of the participating locations.
- Recycling and Waste Diversion: Manheim tracks and measures all recycling programs across the company to identify opportunities to divert even more materials from landfills, and create new revenue streams by identifying materials that can be resold. Current recycling programs include recycling tires, glass, aluminum, paper products and more.