Method Products, PBC, a manufacturer of eco-friendly household, fabric, and personal care products, announced plans for a groundwater replenishment project through a partnership with The Nature Conservancy. Method's goal is to protect water in the Great Lakes' watershed and improve water quality throughout the area with this program, which offers incentives to farmers to increase groundwater recharge.
Method works and its employees live in the Great Lakes Region. For that reason, it is supporting The Nature Conservancy's efforts to protect and restore priority watersheds and support sustainable land use practices in the Great Lakes. The conservancy's programs help ensure that freshwater systems across Michigan and the Great Lakes continue to provide for the people who call it home. Through this water recharge program, Method's goal is to replenish groundwater in equal amounts to the water used in its factory, targeting 30 million gal of groundwater recharge over five years.
"As a native of the Great Lakes region, protecting the water we draw from to make our products is particularly important to me," said Adam Lowry, co-founder and chief greenskeeper at Method. "We considered all paths to determine the most sustainable use of water and decided to partner with The Nature Conservancy and Michigan State University's Institute for Water Research for this program because it is highly traceable, accountable and ecologically relevant."
"The Nature Conservancy is excited to partner with Method to promote sustainable farming practices that restore and protect the Great Lakes," said Mark Tercek, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. "We look forward to our work together to demonstrate that protecting water can be a triple win: good for nature, good for people, and good for business."
"The Great Lakes serve as a critical economic resource for the Midwest and I am pleased that Method has taken this step to ensuring that it maintains the high quality of the watershed," said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "Through this partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Method is continuing its role as a leader in sustainability at its new manufacturing facility in Chicago."
In addition to the groundwater recharge project, Method is working to protect the water in the Great Lakes by installing bioswales in its manufacturing facility where storm water is captured and filtered back into the ground rather than burdening the city's storm water system. Method's manufacturing facility is scheduled to open in early 2015.
Source: Method Products, PBC
