Sustainability

Dorel's sustainability initiatives span all divisions and are designed to minimize environmental impact. In addition, the Company has a Code of Conduct to which all suppliers must adhere. Our programs include:

Recycling and energy management: Standard practices at Dorel include the recycling of packaging materials such as shrink wrap, cardboard, plastics and styrofoam. High volume scanners in many offices considerably reduce paper usage. Energy management systems for lighting include use of fluorescents, controls for intensity levels and motion detectors to turn off lights in unoccupied offices and other facilities.

Going green: Dorel has developed programs to encourage its employees to use bicycles, car pools and mass transit to commute to and from work.

Creating a healthy lifestyle: The link between employee wellbeing and overall corporate success is well-documented. Accordingly, Dorel pursues a number of pro-active initiatives with the goal of creating an environment where employees can continuously monitor their health and make adjustments to become healthier.

Built-in sustainability: The product development process at Dorel now anticipates and forestalls environmental impact. The Company's research and development center in Europe is progressively integrating Life Cycle Assessment and ECO-design methodology to increase the environmental benefits of new products.

Company-wide minimization of environmental impact: Dorel is fostering sustainability at its divisions with the long-term view of helping to preserve and improve the environment:

  • Dorel Juvenile USA's 1.2 million square foot Columbus, Indiana car seat plant was converted a number of years ago into a zero landfill facility that recycles over 99% of its plastic manufacturing waste and other materials. The remaining 1% is sold to an outside recycler (50 million pounds of plastic used a year). The installation of cooling tower systems in Columbus (for plastic pressers and air compressors) has also reduced water usage by over 97% or 1.5 million gallons of water per day.
  • Dorel Juvenile U.S. launched on April 22nd, 2018 Earth Day the Safety 1st RIVA Travel System which is the only recycled resin stroller frame made in the U.S.
  • Dorel Juvenile Europe's research and development center is studying and progressively implementing new and alternative materials in Dorel Juvenile's products to lower their environmental impact, while training programs on ECO-design methods have been intensified to increase the competence of the center's R&D specialists.
  • Dorel Juvenile Europe has determined a sustainability strategy that will help develop products and services that work with our consumers’ changing lifestyles, align with their values and reduce our environmental footprint: by 2020, more than 20% of our sales will come from sustainable solutions, while our footprint is cut by 20%.  Click here to find more information on Dorel Juvenile Europe’s Sustainability Strategy.
  • At Dorel Juvenile USA and Cosco Home and Office Products, on-site Health and Wellness Centers provide employees rapid access to a range of services. Additionally, Dorel conducts the American Lung Association's “Freedom From Smoking” program, which produces excellent results and should lead to reduced healthcare costs over the long-term.
  • Dorel Home Products (DHP) holds formal periodic reviews of its policies through an outside firm to chart progress in reducing its carbon footprint; DHP's plant precludes the use of chemicals or the possibility of water contamination in the processing function; its Recycle/Shred initiative significantly reduces landfill use; the facility is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified and audited by QMI (Quality Management Institute).

At Dorel we have found that our focus on sustainability produces a win-win result, in that the majority of measures taken to protect the environment and conserve energy work in tandem with the overall goal of increasing shareholder value. Accordingly, our commitment to sustainability represents an important component of our corporate strategy and our efforts in this regard will be regularly reviewed.