Busines
hfthe enmronmen
Color your office GREEN
And the Winners Are...
Each year, DEP presents the Governor’s-
Awards for Environmental Excellence to;
Pennsylvania organizations and individu-:
als engaged in pollution prevention or;
energy efficiency efforts. •
TJ About 40 awards are presented;
r each year. All are listed on the:
DEP website. ;
I ' '4
ft A
| f The winners represent some of;
' \ Pennsylvania’s best when it comes to*
demonstrating that environmental*
stewardship and smart business practices:
go hand in hand. For more information;
about the awards, contact DEP at*
717-783-9981, :
Here’s a sampling of the 1999 winners: •
Concurrent Technologies Corp. ■
Johnstown •
Waste Reduction: 300,000 lbs discharges :
annually Savings: $l5 million via technology ;
tiansfers ;
Lucent Technologies
Microelectronics Group
Allentown
Waste Reduction: 4,100 metric tons gieenhouse ;
gases annually, 155,000 gallons water daily, 245
tons paper recycled annually, 135,000 lbs ;
household hazardous waste recovered annually,
35,000 BTU’s annually Savings: $BOO,OOO ;
annually ;
P 3 Steering Committee
Erie
Public Financial Benefits: Free hazardous waste
(meriury) collection, insurance pxemnnn
I eductions, avoidance of medical cost and
workers’ compensation claims, reduction in
regulatory fines and penalties
Pottstown Plating Works
Reading
Waste Reduction: 150,000 gallons water usage
daily, 440 tons waste annually, Savings: $150,000
annually from water reduction, $50,000
annually from treatment chemical reductions
Morton International
Reading
Waste Reduction: 13 7 million gallons annual
water usage, Financial Benefits: $lOO,OOO
annual water usage savings, $B,OOO annual
energy savings; 10 percent return on pollution
prevention investment
Mowhawk Flush Doors
Northumberland
Waste Reduction: 143.4 tons VOCs annually,
18,700 gallons (hazardous) annually, Financial
Benefits: 1 24 year payback, $1 6 million coated
surface costs annually; $183,405 annual energy
savings, $40,792 annual disposal cost reduction
www.GreenWoriksChaiineLorg
Office buildings that meet their
occupants’ present and future
needs without compromising ener
gy efficiency, sustainable building
strategies, telecommunications
capabiliues, occupant health, com
fort, productivity and flexibility are
called “green buildings.” They ben
efit owners and managers because
they attract a broad range of tenants
who are interested in state-of-the-art
BUILDING A BETTER
IDMOIffiOW
Land Recycling Benefits Everyone
DEP’s Land Recycling Program is a part
nership among local businesses, govern
ment, financial institutions and DEP to
restore contaminated sites to safe and
productive uses.
It also promotes the creation of jobs and
economic stimuli to distressed commu-
nities.
The three-year-old program marks a new
direction for environmental efforts Prior
policies requ:
nated sites be
restored to
"pristine" con
ditions —a stai
dard so rigon
that compliant
was prohibitiv
expensive am
tually unattaii
laws also held
ers responsible
even if the contamination was caused by
previous owners.
The current law, however, while still
focusing on producing the desired envi
ronmental result—cleanups —provides
significant economic benefits to commu
nities. Here’s how:
The Land Recycling Program identifies
risk-based standards for cleanup, simpli
fies the approval process and limits
future liability when cleanup standards
are achieved. In addition, it provides
grants and loans to help finance envi
ronmental assessments and site
cleanups.
Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania
GreerWorksoazette
technologies and their employees’
health, quality of life and productiv
ity.
They benefit tenants because all of
their facilities and services are in tip
top order so indoor air quality, envi
ronmental programs, wire manage
ment systems and building infra
structures are superior. And they
benefit the envhonment because
they use fewer natural resources,
Many sites that have been abandoned as
companies ceased operations have rede
velopment potential. Municipalities and
individual companies are interested in
restoring sites to usable condition.
Here are the benefits of land recycling
at a glance:
• Cleaning up polluted industrial sites
protects human health.
• Pennsylvania’s environment is cleaner
and safer.
face possible choices if
contamination is found on their farms,
• Farmland and greenspace are saved
from development.
• Changing our practices now will
sharply reduce new abandoned sites m
the future.
To get involved in the Land Recycling
Program, contact DEP at 717-783-
7816.0
produce less
pollution and
recycle the
majority of the
resources
they use.
For more infor
mation about grei
tact DEP at 877-PAGREEN
www.dep.state.pa.us (directLlNK
“green buildings”). ©
It's not just a good
idea, it's a smart idea
ENVIROHELP
Small businesses can get free,
confidential information on how to
comply with local, state and federal
environmental regulations by
calling the Envirohelp Hotline at
800-722-4743. www.pa-envirohelp.org
This is strictly
confidential...
SMALL BIZ OMBUDSMAN
DEP has a Small Business Ombuds
man to provide small businesses with
confidenual assistance coordinating
DEP resources and to investigate
complaints from small businesses
about DEP. Call Greg Czarnecki,
DEP Small Business Ombudsman, at
717-772-8951. www.dep.statc.pa.us
(directLlNK “ombudsman”).
and become
and towns to
There's gold in them
thar hills
'oluntary and
ivately fund-
I —not done
GRANTS & LOANS
DEP offers grants and loans for every
thing from air pollution control
equipment to prevention of pollu
tion from underground storage. You
can get more information from
www.dep.state.pa.us (directLlNK
“grants”).
the expense
taxpayers.
irmers with
iveloped
need not
What's the alternative?
CLEAN FUELS
More and more fleet operators are
using alternative fuel vehicles pow
ered by compressed and
liquefied natural gas,
propane (liquid petro
leum gas), methanol,
ethanol, biodiesel or
electricity, which emit
fewer toxic pollutants
and promo
national
independence. .
www.dep.state.pa.us
(directLlNK “alternative fuels”),