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Sustainability

Sustainability - for the health of the planet and our business.
Green Building - starting with our own.
Non-Toxic Processes and Products - clean-tech is our norm.
Eco-Partners - partnering with like-minded organizations.

NanoSonic works toward implementation of new technologies in real-life situations, and therefore, our efforts often intersect with industries such as sustainable design and construction, public safety, energy generation, transportation and defense, where new resources can improve lives around the world. Our company is dedicated to fostering a cleaner environment, finding more efficient ways to harvest and use the energy we have, and creating products that are made using processes that do not pollute our water, air or ground. We also partner with other like-minded organizations and institutions to help close the gap between business success and environmental protection. Our own building is a state-of-the-art facility that incorporates advanced "green" building features. We hope you'll join us in our efforts to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to live in a waste-free, toxin-free world.

NanoSonic's LEED Green Building

NanoSonic became the first tenant in Wheatland EcoPark, an environmentally-friendly office and light manufacturing industrial park in Giles County, Virginia, and the first such environmental development in Southwest Virginia. Our main building is a LEED, energy-efficient green building and was designed and operates through an integrated process. We used low impact site development practices and stormwater is treated naturally, which is especially important in our rural location. Energy efficiency includes features such as low-e glazing, digital photocells and occupancy sensors to help control lighting, and Energy Star-rated equipment. All finishes, sealants, coatings and adhesives are low-VOC for improved indoor air quality for a healthier work environment. We save water use inside with low-flow plumbing fixtures, and outside we planted native vegetation that does not require irrigation. More than a quarter of the materials in the building itself have recycled content and more than 10 percent of them were sourced within 500 miles.

In addition, we incorporated innovative features that support our research, development and manufacturing, and that also work towards protecting the environment and conserving resources. For example, working closely with our local architects, we instrumented the solar wall with our own sensors on the south side of the building so we can keep track of the temperature inside and outside, and see how our HVAC system is affected; our own monitoring system helps us better understand air flow, temperature, light intensity, and power consumption, as well as detect smoke in case of fire. By using our whole building as a test bed, our products receive real-world analysis before commercialization and we know that if it’s good for us, chances are it’s good for others, too. Read more about our many green building features on the Facilities page.

NanoSonic's Green Offices (303 kb)
This three-page document describes NanoSonic's LEED-certified green building and facilities.

Non-Toxic Processes and Products

At NanoSonic, most of our materials have the advantage of being synthesized at room temperature and pressure on a wide variety of substrate materials using a process that is environmentally benign, with no or very low emissions. Byproducts from our processes are recycled back into our manufacturing process, and wherever possible, we source raw materials and supplies in our factory and offices from other environmentally-friendly companies. Our manufacturing and office facilities are day-lit to offer the dual benefits of energy efficiency and an improved environment for workers.

NanoSonic makes products that are environmentally benign using these processes. For example, our non-halogenated, low-VOC spray-on fire retardant is non-toxic at every stage of development. When compared to currently employed polyurea, polyurethane or FRP composite blast protective coatings which combust to highly toxic gaseous byproducts, NanoSonic’s low-cost polyorganosiloxane coatings provide superior impact protection, have negligible smoke toxicity and provide exceptional flame protection. Because our products are used in a variety of habitable structures, we have developed them to have negligible smoke toxicity in the event of fire. Another product example is NanoSonic’s hydrophobic window coatings that are completely inert, and retain total transparency of glazing while providing anti-fogging, anti-glare and self-cleaning properties. Some of our products have been third-party verified for non-toxicity.

We believe that our employees should not be exposed to toxic materials, and when we ship a product out of our doors it should not compromise the air we breathe, the soil beneath our feet or the water we depend on for drinking.

Eco Partners

Adopt-a-Highway – To help maintain our beautiful rural location, we adopted part of highway US 460 near both of our plants where we agree to pick up litter four times a year for three years for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

Giles County, Virginia - We believe our responsibility is to help protect the environment as we work and make our products, and that extends to our home community of Giles County, Virginia. It’s why we committed to becoming the first business in the “green” Wheatland EcoPark.

Renew the New – We are active participants in this environmental effort to protect and preserve the New River, which is a stone’s throw from our offices.

Solaripedia – NanoSonic’s support of this global, free green design and building online database has allowed the enhancement of thousands of files, images, documents and links for sustainable design and building information. NanoSonic enabled the development of a dedicated materials section that provides descriptions and links to all types of sustainable building materials used around the world.

Virginia Tech (VT) – NanoSonic grew out of and has partnered with the largest university in Virginia – one that is committed to green technologies and energy efficiency, especially in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Virginia Tech has been at the forefront of such initiatives as the creation of the Green500 list that measures worldwide supercomputers by their power consumption instead of their computing power – and finding ways to make our electrical products more energy efficient.