February 10, 2021

At Daikin Applied, our HVAC technologies advance global standards for sustainability. It is equally important to ensure our processes do, too. Last month, three Daikin Applied sites received ISO 14001 certification, bringing our total certified sites to eight and further supporting our already strong commitment to environmental stewardship.

Daikin Applied locations in Phoenix, Faribault (North) and Plymouth all received ISO 14001 certification in January 2021 while the facilities in Dayton and San Luis Potosí were certified earlier in 2020. This brings those sites in line with our manufacturing centers in Staunton, Owatonna and Faribault (South), which received ISO 14001 re-certifications in 2019.

What does it mean?

ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO standards are all about doing things the right way, and with consistency. While ISO 9001 is about quality management and ISO 45001 refers to occupational health and safety, ISO 14001 tells the world that Daikin Applied operates in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way. To get ISO 14001 certified, Daikin Applied sites demonstrated use of strong and verifiable environmental management systems (EMS) via a series of internal and external audits.

Don Rooks, Director of Corporate Environmental Health and Safety at Daikin Applied, shared, “a strong EMS provides the framework for continuous improvement and is a review of policies, processes, plans, practices along with said records that define how we interact with the environment.”

“For example, it includes environmental record traceability and our plans for environmental sustainability improvement, like reduction of CO₂, water use, and waste production – in which many of our factories have made great strides,” said Rooks. “In fact, since 2015, water usage was reduced in Owatonna and Faribault (South) by 48% and 38%, respectively.”

What are the benefits?

“Daikin Applied already had a strong structure in place,” Rooks said. “But with eight sites now ISO 14001 certified, it demonstrates to customers, employees and shareholders just how serious we are about environmental stewardship and continuous improvement.”

Rooks added that the certifications prove Daikin has the processes in place to save energy, reduce waste, make the best use of our resources and comply with all relevant environmental legislation. For instance, one of the significant changes at the Owatonna factory is with volatile organic compound (VOC) reduction. The site inventoried and eliminated over 100 chemicals from the factory, reducing VOCs by 78%.

Mike Schwartz, President and CEO, stated, “Protecting the environment is an increasingly important goal for our business today, and these certifications align with our commitment to provide healthy and comfortable air environments while reducing environmental impact.”

To learn more about Daikin’s commitment to sustainability, visit our website.