Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) today announced its ongoing efforts to create a Wichita sustainability coalition. In partnership with Wichita State University (WSU), HBC is forming a coalition of local manufacturers that will focus on increasing industrial recycling. The formation of the coalition is just one of the critical steps HBC has taken as part of its commitment to advancing sustainability initiatives. Last year, HBC created a team that joined with WSU to design and implement a sustainability program throughout all areas of HBC's global business.  

"What we do and build in our factories today will affect future generations," said HBC chairman and CEO Jim Schuster. "For years, our industry has been focused on 'green' efforts, but we are taking our sustainability program a step further by implementing a long-term strategy to ensure our company is successful for decades to come. By joining with other companies in Wichita, we believe we can raise the bar for environmental and economic sustainability. We are more committed than ever to these vital initiatives."  

HBC's goal is to improve sustainability for the entire life cycle of an aircraft – from engineering and manufacturing to customer operations and product retirement. The HBC sustainability program is focused on excellence in four key areas:

1. Product value – continuous improvement of products to advance quality and efficiency and reduce environmental impact

2. Manufacturing leadership – implementation of lean processes to reduce energy usage and operations costs 

3. Environmental performance – focused efforts to increase recycling and reduce waste, energy usage and water consumption

4. People and ideas – empowerment of employees who want to contribute to sustainability efforts 

HBC will provide additional details on its sustainability program through a dedicated Web site that will include success stories, performance metrics and future activities.