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Goodwill Industries and Auto Suppliers Protecting the Environment and Creating Jobs

Suppliers Partnership for the Environment Recognizes Unique Collaboration at North American International Auto Show

January 11, 2007

Rockville, MD - Goodwill Industries agencies in Michigan are being honored by a leading automotive industry group for protecting the environment and creating job opportunities for a variety of workers, including people with disabilities. The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP), an association of automotive industry manufacturers and suppliers, will recognize Goodwill at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 11, 2007. The Goodwills are being acknowledged for innovative processes that reuse, recycle and remanufacture automotive parts, by-products and other materials. 

The Michigan-based Goodwill agencies provide the auto industry with an environmentally sound solution for recycling materials that might otherwise end up in landfills. They process resources such as cardboard and plastic, wood pallets, batteries, and fiber drums into useful commodities such as new containers, packing material and other automotive parts. The innovative partnership has created work opportunities, including positions in packaging, machine operation, inventory and quality control, customer service, and management and supervisory positions. 

“Goodwill’s partnership with SP leads to increased recycling and boosts the number of work opportunities for people who need a second chance,” says Susanne Fredericks, Executive Director of the Goodwill Association of Michigan. “It also opens opportunities to expand Goodwill’s recycling efforts and facilities throughout the state.”

The partnership has created jobs for more than 50 people in Toledo, OH; Flint, MI; and Kalamazoo, MI, and that number is expected to double in the months ahead.  People like Lyle Mohr, who spent nine years in prison for attempted robbery.  Thanks to Goodwill's employment programs and the partnership with SP, Mohr has been successfully employed for the last six months as a full-time material handler at International Components Strategies (ICS).
 
“Goodwill was the missing link between the automotive industry, environmental practices, and job opportunities,” says George W. Kessinger, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.  “This automotive partnership is a solid example of how Goodwill can be a resource for businesses in a local community and help promote job growth, economic growth, and environmental sustainability.” 

Goodwill and SP are working to expand these automotive job opportunities in other regions of the country and to identify other industries for expanding the partnership program.