Stanley Black & Decker receives 2020 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award

June 2, 2020



Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers announced the winners of the 2020 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards on June 2, 2020. Jackson, Tennessee's Stanley Black & Decker (SB&D) received its 2020 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award in the category of Sustainable Performance for Madison County.


The Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards program recognizes exceptional voluntary actions that improve or protect our environment and natural resources with projects or initiatives not required by law or regulation.


In its 34th year, the awards program covers nine categories: agriculture and forestry; building green; clean air; energy and renewable resources; environmental education and outreach; materials management; natural resource conservation; sustainable performance; and water quality conservation.


“Tennesseans continue to show their commitment to the environment in innovative ways, and we want to recognize their outstanding efforts,” Lee said. “These awards show that responsible environmental stewardship is happening across our state.”


Stanley Black & Decker Jackson is on a journey to ‘Create a More Sustainable World’ and reduce its impact to the environment. The Jackson plant has pursued this commitment to sustainability by reducing energy consumption and water usage, adopting green energy sources, and becoming landfill free in 2019. Since 2019, SB&D has doubled the amount of recycling streams within the facility by diverting 10 million pounds of waste from landfilling and adding a process to reuse powdered paint which reused another 21,000 pounds of waste material.


The Jackson plant embraced the challenge to reduce water usage while growing production, implementing measures which reduced water usage by 12 percent. To accomplish this, SB&D installed low flow fixtures, automatic flushers on the toilets and automatic faucets, and reduced water usage in the shop paint line which resulted in a savings of 200,000 gallons since installation. The Jackson plant has also completed several energy and carbon reduction projects which include LED lighting, motion sensor fans, chiller replacements, and a chiller controls upgrade. Through these different measures and commitments, SB&D has reduced energy usage by a total of 3 percent, the facility’s carbon footprint by 42 percent compared to a 2015 baseline, and still managed to grow the business.


Beyond SB&D’s commitment to facility sustainability, it has also been a major partner in the community. In 2018 the facility donated over 250 pounds of food through its annual food drive. SB&D staff have planted trees on their property as well as distributed trees to employees and community members. One of the most remarkable programs has been the Local Options and Opportunities Program (LOOP). This program is a unique work-based learning opportunity where 40 students attend a modified school day for academic credit through an online learning lab model with teacher support and work in the manufacturing facility the remainder of the day. This experience takes place at the manufacturing site instead of the traditional high school. SB&D is one of four manufacturers in Jackson that participate in LOOP.


“This year’s Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards reflect a diverse approach to environmental responsibility,” Salyers said. “The winners are worthy of this recognition, and we are proud of the example they set for all of us.”



View the Press Release for more information and to view all winners.