Built to Last: A Commitment to Sustainability

When it comes to providing safe, reliable buses, a few things typically come to mind. Some people think of seatbelts, emergency doors, or crash rails. Others look for a bus that can provide exceptional driver visibility with wide windows and consistent control panels. But there is one aspect of safety that is often overlooked — sustainability. As you know, not all buses are created equal in terms of design and overall quality. Likewise, some buses are safer for the Earth, and ultimately, the people exposed to their emissions every single day. Thomas Built Buses is committed to providing a greener tomorrow by implementing manufacturing and maintenance policies that protect our air and conserve our resources. Here’s how they do it:

Going Zero-Waste-to-Landfill

Zero-Waste-to-Landfill describes a commitment to making sure that everything received or produced by the company is used, reused, recycled or sold — absolutely nothing is sent to the landfill. In their first year as a zero-waste-to-landfill operation, Thomas Built eliminated 8,595 metric tons of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which is equivalent to removing 1,574 cars from the road, conserving 4,900 barrels of oil, or not using 1.2 million gallons of gasoline.

Recycling Materials

Thomas Built Buses is the only school bus manufacturer to implement zero-waste-to-landfill operations. This involves recycling a lot of materials, including wood, paper, and cardboard, but further, it involves eliminating waste before it even needs to be recycled! New packaging solutions and manufacturing processes have completely eliminated 12% of wood and cardboard from their recycling stream.

Improving Air Quality

Manufacturing a bus is an extensive process that can involve hazardous air pollutants. Thomas Built Buses has examined each stage of the process to reduce volatile organic compounds and pollutants resulting in significantly improved air quality. By improving their paint booths, reclaiming used solvent, and enhancing their environmental management system, they have demonstrated a clear commitment to a greener tomorrow.

Conserving Water & Energy

With a strong commitment to reducing per-unit water consumption, Thomas Built has been able to save 239 gallons per bus manufactured. Furthermore, they  reduced overall energy consumption by 10.1 percent or 360 kW per bus manufactured. The company is committed to increasing these numbers, and finding new and innovative ways to conserve resources.

Harnessing Solar Power

Thomas Built Buses is not only concerned with their own initiatives, they genuinely want to see an improvement in their community and the world. Land-to-energy initiatives allow them to accomplish this. After providing land to house 1,690 solar panels (owned and operated by Duke Energy), enough power to sustain 41 average sized-homes was produced.

Green From the Ground Up

Building a green product goes far beyond emissions control. Thomas Built employs a growing list of clean technologies that bring you the safest, most sustainable buses around. Carolina Thomas in Greensboro, NC, is committed to providing buses that are manufactured responsibly and foster a better future for our children. If you would like to explore bus options or learn more about the importance of sustainable operations, contact us today.

CT-CTAButton-MoreInfo