Demonstrate Sustainability Principles

[photo caption: Craig Shankster, President at Morso US LLC, holds a Green Power Switch® plaque that certifies that 100% of the electricity used at the Morsø US distribution facility in Portland TN comes from renewable sources.]


Setting An Example Is Not The Main Means of Influencing Others; It Is The Only Means. Albert Einstein

Without a doubt, Morso wood stove owners (past, present, and future) do their homework. They research the leading wood stoves on the market. They read fireplace and wood stove reviews, blog posts, and home improvement magazines. They ask serious questions about performance, maintenance, quality, warranties and energy efficiency. They even comparative shop online and at hearth stores.

However, when it comes to evaluating which products and companies are considered “sustainable”, it gets tricky. What exactly does a company need to do to be deemed “sustainable”? If a wood stove demonstrates quality construction and energy efficiency, does that make it a sustainable product?

“Sustainability” is not a nuts and bolts comparison; it is a value that represents the stewardship actions a company and its products demonstrate to ensure the well being of the environment and world we share.

Respectfully, with over 158 years of practice and a documented track record of environmentally-responsible manufacturing processes, Morso can confidently say that all of our handcrafted cast iron products are indeed “sustainable”.

You judge for yourself.

Sustainability Check List

RECYCLED CONTENT

Every Morso wood stove and fireplace insert is constructed in high quality cast iron using 98% recycled material. Just think, your new Morso energy efficient wood stove might have once been a bicycle or a lamp post.

All packaging is made from 100% recycled material; Morsø packs products in cardboard and wood, not plastic or PVC.

All waste packaging and iron parts are also recycled. Other types of waste are separated into groups and go to a central waste center for additional recycling.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

At Morsø’s Denmark production facility 80% of the total energy we use in production comes from renewable sources:69% from Wind, water and sun energy, and 11% from waste, bio fuel & bio gas

The Morso US headquarters in Portland, Tennessee’s electricity is powered by 100% renewable energy, including bio fuel and wind, per agreement with their local energy supplier as part of the Green Power Switch program: 80% from wind power and 20% from biogas.

ENERGY CONSERVATION

Constant evaluation and conservation improvements have allowed production output to increase while continuing to hold energy use at the current level. Possibly the largest investment made in energy reduction has been in MANPOWER. Today all our stoves continue to be hand built and quality checked; this is also good for the local economy.

MAXIMIZED EFFICIENCY

Morso wood stoves and fireplace inserts have gone through major engineering advances to ensure that the combustion chambers burn more completely with low emissions. As a result, Morsø has improved the emission g/ pr. kg wood pr hour dramatically and measuring on OGC (tar) and CO have significantly improved.

The firebox is lined with Vermiculite, a material that offers superb insulation qualities allowing for secondary combustion to take place in the firebox. Vermiculite is resistant to temperatures up to 2120°f.

The window is made from transparent ceramic glass resistant to temperatures up to 1300°f

SUSTAINABLE WOOD ENERGY

Researchers estimate that, in total, wood may produce between three times and 10 times fewer greenhouse gas emissions per unit of heat than other energy sources. When the use of sustainably-harvested, properly processed and seasoned wood for energy displaces the use of fossil fuels, the result is a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Using a wood-burning Morso stove is a positive- renewable-fuel choice. Wood is a plentiful, renewable, non-fossil natural product and when used as fuel it is in effect ‘carbon-neutral’ meaning that the CO2 released when burning is being absorbed by the tree that has been replanted; in fact the same level of CO2 would have been emitted by a tree that had been left to rot naturally on the forest floor.