By Bob Boster, President, Clear-Com
At Clear-Com, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a fundamental value that shapes how we operate every day. As a member of the HME family of companies, we are proud to be part of a global organization that is deeply committed to protecting our environment, minimizing our impact, and building a more sustainable future for generations to come.
Sustainability initiatives at our Carlsbad, California headquarters offer a strong example of what commitment looks like in action. Through investments in renewable energy, responsible resource management, and operational excellence, we’re taking meaningful steps toward environmental stewardship, and these efforts support the customers, partners, and industries we serve.
Building Energy Efficiency for a Greener Tomorrow
Our parent company, HME’s headquarters stands as a model for sustainable building practices. We maintain a fully Title 24-compliant LED lighting system, designed for maximum energy efficiency. Even more significantly, our installation of 2,080 solar panels has enabled us to generate over 4 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity to date. This solar array has not only reduced our monthly energy costs, but has made our facility carbon neutral, an achievement we’re proud to share.
Through our partnership with the Clean Energy Alliance, we ensure that any additional electricity we use comes from sustainable sources. Small changes add up too: our onsite EV charging stations save an average of 800 trees annually and offset the use of 286 gallons of gasoline. Water conservation is another critical focus, with smart landscaping and eight bio basins on site that help us save more than 561,000 gallons of water per year.
Responsible Recycling and E-Waste Management
Reducing waste is another pillar of our sustainability strategy. Our headquarters provides comprehensive recycling services for cardboard, paper, plastics, aluminum, and e-waste. So far this year alone, we’ve recycled 37.25 tons of cardboard and 50,000 pounds of electronic waste. Every item we responsibly dispose of represents another step toward a cleaner planet.
Product Responsibility and Supply Chain Ethics
Sustainability isn’t limited to our facilities, it’s also built into our products and our supply chain practices. We self-certify our products to RoHS standards, ensuring they are free from hazardous materials. Our supply chain policies comply with major regulations in California, Canada, and the UK, affirming our commitment to human rights by preventing forced and child labor. We also recognize that sustainability means extending the life of our solutions wherever possible. That’s why we design our systems with repairability in mind, ensuring customers can maintain and upgrade their equipment instead of replacing it outright.
Our communication systems, trusted by customers across industries including broadcast, theater, military, and maritime, are engineered to meet high standards for durability, performance, and safety. Certifications for marine applications ensure that we deliver not just quality, but sustainability and responsibility in even the harshest environments.
Driving Sustainability Through Lean Principles
We also believe sustainability includes how we work. Our Lean Certification Program fosters a culture of continuous improvement, empowering employees to reduce waste, streamline processes, and contribute to more efficient, thoughtful operations. Each Lean Champion must complete at least one continuous improvement project every year, embedding innovation into the DNA of our company.
Looking Forward
At Clear-Com, we know that real progress doesn’t happen overnight but we are committed to making measurable strides every day. From our energy usage and waste management to our product development and supply chain ethics, sustainability is a guiding force behind the decisions we make and the future we are building. Equally important, we design our platforms with forward expansion in mind. Rather than requiring customers to discard existing systems when new capabilities emerge, we engineer solutions that can grow and adapt, protecting their investments while reducing waste.
We are proud of the foundation we have laid and even more excited for the road ahead. Together with our employees, customers, and partners, Clear-Com will continue to lead the way communicating clearly, acting responsibly, and working every day toward a better, more sustainable world. With these processes firmly in place, Clear-Com has established a leadership position in sustainability within our industry, and we remain committed to both advancing our own practices and sharing our progress to inspire broader achievements across the space.