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New EPA Report Shows Significant Environmental Progress By Performance Track Members

Release Date: 05/09/2007
Contact Information: Dave Ryan, (202) 564-4355 / [email protected]

(Washington, D.C. - May 9, 2007) EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson is today announcing a report showing that voluntary actions by members of the National Environmental Performance Track -- EPA's most comprehensive environmental leadership program -- are leading to significant gains for the environment.

"From newspaper headlines to the covers of Fortune 500 reports, we are reading about more and more companies working to outdo each other in "going green," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "EPA's Performance Track partners are ready, willing and able to go well beyond mandated requirements – proving that doing what's good for the environment is also good for the bottom line."

The Performance Track Fifth Annual Progress Report details members' environmental accomplishments from 2000 – 2005. The cumulative results show members reducing their water use by 3.5 billion gallons, greenhouse gas emissions by 97,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, hazardous waste generation by 130,000 tons, and non-hazardous waste generation by 600,000 tons. Members have also restored or protected more than 14,000 acres of wildlife habitat.

The Performance Track program recognizes and drives environmental excellence by encouraging facilities with strong environmental records to go above and beyond their legal requirements. Members, who include major corporations, small businesses, and public facilities, typically set four public, measurable goals to improve the quality of our nation's air, water, and land. Since the program's inception in June 2000, Performance Track membership has grown to more than 450 facilities in 46 states and Puerto Rico, and members have made more than 1,500 commitments to the environment.

To recognize top leaders in the Performance Track program, Johnson is presenting annual awards at a dinner tonight in New Orleans. Environmental performance awards are being presented to McNeil PPC, Lititz, Pa.; Siltronic Corp., Portland, Ore.; DENSO Manufacturing Michigan, Battle Creek, Mich.; and Montenay Bay LLC, Panama City, Fla. EPA made its selection based on members' progress toward achieving environmental performance goals and the breadth and challenge of these goals. EPA's selection also took into account, among other things, the member's compliance history and community outreach efforts.

The winners for extraordinary efforts in outreach are the Virginia Performance Track Member Outreach Group (represented by International Paper, Franklin, Va.; Dupont Spruance Plant, Richmond, Va.; and Lockheed Martin, Manassas, Va.); Brookhaven Science Associations, Upton, N.Y.; Arizona Chemical Co., Port St. Joe, Fla.; Coca-Cola North America, Ontario, Calif.; and Forever Resorts Black Canyon/Willow Beach River Adventures, Boulder City, Nev. Outreach award winners make a special effort to inform the public on what it means to be a Performance Track member through presentations, promotional materials, and employee awareness.

Two state agencies—the State of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Water Quality Division, and the State of West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water and Waste Management—are receiving special recognition for supporting Performance Track and its members. Colorado worked with a Kodak facility on a watershed monitoring and stakeholder involvement program on the Cache la Poudre River, while West Virginia collaborated with Dow West Virginia to provide incentives that enable the facility to pursue an ambitious set of sustainability goals.

In addition, Administrator Johnson will officially welcome 87 new facilities that have joined Performance Track since May 2006.

The awards dinner is being held in conjunction with the fourth annual National Environmental Partnership Summit, a collaborative event involving the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable, the Compliance Assistance Providers' Forum and the Performance Track Participants' Association.

More about the Fifth Progress Report (2007): epa.gov/performancetrack/pubs.htm

More about the 2007 awardees: epa.gov/performancetrack/benefits/2007awardees.htm

More about Performance Track: epa.gov/performancetrack/index.htm