Oshkosh’s Tubbs receives Sustainability Champion award

Matthew Day

Staff

December 27, 2023

OSHKOSH – For more than a decade, Kevin Tubbs, vice president and chief ethics, compliance and sustainability officer at Oshkosh Corporation, has focused his efforts on establishing the global manufacturer as a leader in the sustainability space.

Under Tubbs’ leadership – who was brought on board in 2012 to develop and implement the company’s sustainability program – Oshkosh established KPIs (key performance indicators) for energy and waste reduction to drive performance in areas that the organization could rally around. 

Those efforts were recently recognized at a statewide level – being named 2023 Sustainability Champion of the Year by the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council.

Per the council, the award highlights individuals who show an outstanding commitment to sustainable business practices and deliver both short- and long-term solutions that provide documented social, environmental and economic value.

Tubbs said he felt honored to receive the award, but said the entire company deserved the credit.

“It’s humbling to be recognized,” he said. “There are a lot of talented people in Wisconsin that are involved around sustainability, so I was fortunate. But a person doesn’t have success in a company of 15,000 people without a lot of other people involved with what we’re doing around sustainability, so I do view the award as a team award.”

Additionally, Tubbs said he especially appreciates the external acclaim the award might bring to Oshkosh Corporation’s sustainability efforts.

“It’s good for the company,” he said. “Not just within our company, but people outside our company (can) recognize the good work that we’re trying to do. If we can shed light on some of the good things that we’re doing, then other people can get ideas for things that maybe they could do, and ways that they could be more sustainable.”

Oshkosh’s initiatives
Among the sustainability initiatives Tubbs helped implement at Oshkosh Corporation, he said the company set a 10-year goal in 2014 to reduce its normalized energy use by 25%.

He said the company managed to achieve that goal, two years ahead of schedule, by maximizing lighting and compressed air efficiency throughout its facilities.

Another goal is to, by the end of 2024, divert 90% of Oshkosh Corporation’s waste from ending up in landfills, Tubbs said.

The current diversion rate, he said, is already “in the upper 80%.”

Tubbs said he credits this to having four of the company’s main facilities receiving zero landfill waste certifications, with two more nearly there.

Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council named Kevin Tubbs, vice president and chief ethics, compliance and sustainability officer at Oshkosh Corporation, Sustainable Champion of the Year at its annual conference last fall. Submitted Photo

Also contributing to Oshkosh’s sustainability performance, Tubbs said, is its products, including the production of the first electric fire truck, which is currently in operation in the City of Madison.

He said the company is also working to develop a higher percentage of electrical vehicles for the postal service.

“We’re producing products that will help our customers meet their sustainability goals,” he said.

?Tubbs said he hopes Oshkosh Corporation’s example can serve as proof that businesses don’t need to choose between being successful or sustainable.

No ceiling for sustainability
Though any company implementing sustainability needs to start somewhere, Tubbs said the goal isn’t to ever be finished with it.

He said incorporating sustainability is part of a holistic mindset for businesses – an ongoing pursuit akin to safety or quality.

Early in his tenure at Oshkosh Corporation, Tubbs said his primary focus was to centralize what had been disparate “pockets” of environmental efforts across the corporation.

Once that was accomplished, he said he utilized the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council as an educational resource and network.

Tubbs said since Oshkosh was certified in the council’s Green Masters Program – the council’s platform for measuring organizations’ sustainability management – the company remains heavily committed to and involved with the council and its network.

“(The Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council) helps the whole industry get better from a sustainability perspective,” he said. “Businesses helping businesses – not competing against other businesses, but helping them become more sustainable. For (Oshkosh), if our suppliers are more sustainable, when we look up and down our value chain it’s going to help us become more sustainable also.”

Tubbs said his efforts to aid the environment are consistent with his profession.

He said his evident passion for sustainability likely contributed to his nomination for the council’s sustainability champion award.

“They look at the kind of things that you’re doing on the outside also,” he said.

For him, Tubbs said these activities include being a member of the board of trustees for the Heckrodt Wetland Reserve in Menasha and working with Wisconsin-based groups to monitor the state’s eagle population.

He said he also enjoys kayaking, nature photography and visiting Wisconsin’s many state parks.

Honest and transparent
Tubbs said he is aware of instances of “greenwashing,” wherein companies make environmentally friendly claims to deceptively curry public favor, but this could never be the case at Oshkosh Corporation.

Tubbs – a chemical engineer by trait – said Oshkosh’s improvement must be grounded in evidence and measurable.

“We announced back in 2022 that we’re going to establish what’s called science-based targets for our reduction of energy emissions, which means we’re going to commit to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the Paris Climate Accord,” he said. “We try not to overstate where we’re at and what we’re doing, but be able to support the claims and statements we make.”

Tubbs said disingenuous sustainability claims are unfortunate, as is the way the broader topic can become contentious.

“Taking care of the environment shouldn’t be political or controversial,” he said. “It may sound trite, but we only have one environment. We want to leave things as good or better than we found them for the next generation. When we get politicized, we start to argue about some of this stuff, and we lose sight of what’s deep down hopefully what we all want.”

Private companies, Tubbs said, can and should do more to promote sustainability, even if laws and regulations don’t enforce it.

“If we’re going to rely simply on the government to right the wrongs we have, or address the challenges we have… good luck with that,” he said. “I think business and industry and society in general if we all do a part, we’ll all be better off.” 

Humility and progress
Tubbs said Oshkosh Corporation has been featured on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and has been named one of the world’s most ethical companies by Newsweek magazine.

“That just says we’re on the right track and to keep going,” he said. “We’re still heading in the same direction.”

While appreciated, Tubbs said receiving the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council’s Sustainability Champion award likewise did not alter the company’s, or his, course or go to their heads.

“We went back to work the next day,” he said. “I’m an engineer by training. I’m not a publicity or communications person that’s looking for a spotlight on some of this, and I think by and large we’re a fairly humble company.”

That humility, Tubbs said, is embodied in the building of Oshkosh Corporation’s headquarters, where he said the lobby displays the history of the company dating back to its founding in 1917.

?Originally, the founders hoped to sell a patent for a four-wheel-drive system for vehicles, Tubbs said, and to not even run the company.

He said the original patents – along with the 50 or so rejection letters from uninterested buyers – are displayed in the front of the lobby, whereas Oshkosh’s awards and trophies are less prominently displayed in the back.

The building’s address, Tubbs said – 1917 Four Wheel Drive – likewise hearkens back to the company’s humble origins.

This perpetual focus on challenges is inspiring, he said, always leading him to improve his efforts at Oshkosh.

“We’re not perfect, and there are companies that started (sustainability programs) before we did and are out ahead of us,” he said. “We still have a way to go before we get to where we want to be, and we still have things to aspire to.”

?For more information on Oshkosh Corporation’s sustainability initiatives, visit oshkoshcorp.com/impact/sustainability.