Waste to Burn

Gas, oil, and electricity are expensive these days. Maybe it's time to switch to landfill gases, agricultural waste, and carpet scraps.

Some companies are doing exactly that. Just last month, Shaw Industries Inc., a carpet manufacturer based in Dalton, Ga., flicked the switch on a new waste-to-energy conversion plant that will turn the 30 million pounds of carpet scraps that it produces each year into 50,000 pounds per hour of steam energy for carpet processing.

Shaw CFO Ken Jackson says that not only will the plant provide a source of cheap fuel, it will also save on waste-disposal costs and produce cleaner emissions than fossil fuel-fired boilers. "Hopefully, we can use this initial project as a model for the future," says Jackson. Shaw has 17 other plants around the country that could use waste-to-energy conversion technology.

The plant, located next to Shaw's Springdale residential carpet plant in Dalton, is expected to save the company an estimated $3.5 million a year in fuel costs. Siemens Corp. developed, built, and runs the $10 million to $15 million plant, which will provide 80 percent of Shaw's steam energy needs for the Springdale facility, according to Siemens figures. Shaw provides the carpet waste and buys the steam energy created from Siemens at a fixed rate, says Clark Wiedetz, Siemens's energy business development manager.

Shaw is not alone in the hunt for alternative energy sources. Agricultural giant Cargill Inc. operates a variety of waste-to-energy conversion plants. In Iowa Falls, Iowa, the company expects to open a biodiesel conversion plant — which converts soybean oil into synfuel, a liquid fuel obtained by fermenting agricultural byproducts — in 2006. It already operates a landfill-gas initiative, which captures methane emissions from a nearby landfill in Fargo, N.Dak., and eight wastewater-treatment facilities at beef-and pork-processing plants, which capture methane emitted from treatment lagoons. "The eight wastewater-treatment facilities alone save Cargill about $8 million per year," says Mark Klein, spokesman for Cargill Meat Solutions.

Wiedetz claims that companies could consider a waste-to-energy plant, and other alternative fuels, if they are spending more than $4 per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas. (Current prices are in the neighborhood of $14 per 1,000 cubic feet.) But waste-to-energy plants aren't always feasible. Back in 1996, American Rice looked at the cost of burning rice hulls for steam energy, but abandoned the idea because it was not economical.

Forgotten projects could find new life, however, if energy prices continue to climb, says Wiedetz. "There are so many ways to efficiently convert waste to energy," he says. "And with fuel costs doubling and tripling, companies are going to take notice." For example, American Rice says it may look at the issue again if natural gas prices continue to rise. — Laura DeMars

Executive Perks Exposed

Companies are revealing more about the extras they bestow on executives, such as country-club fees, insurance, the use of corporate-owned housing, and the use of corporate jets for personal trips.

These perks, which have often been hidden from the eyes of regulators and investors, are getting more notice at the urging of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Research by Nixon Peabody partner John Partigan, who specializes in disclosure issues, found that 42 percent of the Fortune 100, including Northrop Grumman, Verizon, and Procter & Gamble, have voluntarily revealed more about executive perks in their 2005 proxy statements. "We should see more companies following their lead and disclosing more," says Partigan.

P&G disclosed a raft of extras that it gave CEO A.G. Lafley, including paying for his personal security, personal use of aircraft, and paid-for financial counseling, which alone cost $80,000. "We've included more information [on executive perks] this year in response to what our shareholders are asking for," says P&G spokesperson Terry Loftus.

The voluntary openness comes as the SEC is cracking down on companies and executives who run afoul of disclosure rules that cover these benefits. In April, Tyson Foods paid a $1.5 million penalty and former chairman and CEO Donald Tyson paid a $700,000 penalty for failure to disclose more than $1 million in perks such as housekeeping, telephone service, and lawn and auto maintenance. (The SEC requires disclosure of personal benefits if their value exceeds $50,000 or 10 percent of an executive's annual salary and bonus.)

Partigan says the SEC is working on new rules for executive compensation, and it could require additional disclosures. A time frame for the new rules has yet to be set. — Jim Montalto

Et Tu, Ben and Jerry's?

In its mildly Utopian mission statement, Ben and Jerry's Homemade, the socially conscious Vermont ice cream maker, testifies to the company's commitment to create "economic opportunities for those who have been denied them."

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