Karla Wludyga
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
Ron Fry
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Fairmount Santrol’s employees, called Family Members, are encouraged to constantly think up ways to improve what they do and lessen their footprint on the environment. Through a culture that thrives on continuous improvement and appreciative inquiry, one employee came up with a simple, zero cost solution to reduce the amount of water used in company toilets by placing large objects in the tanks to displace water.
Water is critical to Fairmount Santrol’s operations. The company implements water management plans for each facility in an effort to reduce overall consumption, measure inputs, outputs, and use. The plans are refreshed annually, and in an effort to increase water efficiency at its headquarters in Chesterland, Ohio, an employee suggested that the company could decrease water consumption by putting a large rock in the bottom of the water tanks of the toilets at the facility. The rocks displace water in the tanks, thereby requiring less water to refill the tanks after flushing. This small, zero-cost (the rocks came from company mines), easy-to-implement innovation created the company’s own brand of low-flow toilets, conserving water and reducing costs.
The inspiration for many of Fairmount Santrol’s innovations has been the result of practicing appreciative inquiry (AI). The company has hosted AI summits in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014 in an effort to unite and empower employees to think more broadly about how they can “Do Good. Do Well” (the company motto). Team members are encouraged to vote with their feet by choosing the sustainable development team that they feel most passionate about (in 2016 there are 13 to choose from). Seventeen new initiatives were implemented as a result of the 2014 AI summit. As stated by Director of Sustainable Development Beau Daane, “When you empower and listen to your people, you’ll be amazed at what they do.”
The low-flow toilet innovation conserves a very small percentage of the water used by Fairmount Santrol, but company leaders believe that baby steps count. When employees saw how a colleague’s idea was put into action and had a positive impact, they were inspired to do the same thing in their homes. Some got creative and used a brick or a soda bottle filled with pebbles; they used their own creative adaptations to suit their situations. The company clearly demonstrated that small efforts such as this can spark people to think differently and inspire change on an even grander scale.
Recognizing that not all business benefits are tangible, Fairmount Santrol has started tracking the positive impact of its sustainable developments through a tool it calls “SD Pays.” A committee calculates which projects create SD Pays, how to calculate project value, and SD-related expenses to calculate in the final project value. For 2014, the company valued its total SD Pays at $12,300,000, with $7,000,000 in expenses, for a final value of $5,300,000.
Fairmount Santrol’s motto is “Do good, Do well,” which Director of Sustainable Development Beau Daane noted goes beyond doing just the right thing for the business. By focusing on sustainability in so many ways, the company builds and sustains strong relationships with stakeholders, shareholders, investors, suppliers, employees, and the community. “By doing good, we do better,” he said.
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Beau Daane, Director of Sustainable Development
Fairmount Santrol (NYSE: FMSA) is a leading provider of high-performance sand and sand-based products used by oil and gas exploration and production companies to enhance the productivity of their wells. The company also provides high-quality products, strong technical leadership and applications knowledge to end users in the foundry, building products, water filtration, glass, and sports and recreation markets. Fairmount Santrol has facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia, which are supported by a global distribution and customer support network.