Active Playground Equipment is fully committed to the sustainabilty of our global environment. Every product, vendor and process is reveiwed to ensure that we minimize our impact on the environment and that we contribute to healthy communities through play. The following is a simple, short list of some of the proactive steps we’ve taken in our sustainability commitment. Our commitment is more accurately measured in the many small steps we take each day.

Products
Our play structures are made from steel that has a minimum 65% recycled content. All of our PVC is free of hazardous heavy metals such as lead. Additionally, phthalate plasticizers (historically used as softeners in PVC) have been reduced to be compliant with recent legislation that initiated in California and has subsequently been adopted nationwide. A essential specification in all our packaging material is to have an above average recycled content.

Process
Although there is an abundance of readily available refurbished metal fabrication equipment, APE has consistently designed and/or purchased the newest equipment available in order to reduce our energy consumption. Lean manufacturing has allowed us to cut lead times while simultaneously reducing our finished goods inventory by 40%. Flexible work schedules have allowed us to spread our production to off-peak energy consumption periods. Over 80% of our production waste (from metal to office paper) is recycled.

Prices
Over the long term, having a cleaner environment and a reduced manufacturing footprint will not only increase our quality of life but will result in a lower cost of doing business. But in the interim, because we are committed to being at the leading edge of environmental reform, many of these initiatives initially increase the cost of providing our goods and services. While other corporations are certainly entitled to downloading these costs to the end user, here at ACTIVE, we are determined not to pass any increased costs associated with our sustainability efforts on to our clients. Instead, we’ve voluntarily accepted a reduced ROI as part of our contribution to a cleaner planet. When you complete your playspace purchase using ACTIVE, you join our large and growing team of environmentally committed partners. Welcome to the healthier world at ACTIVE.