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Pratt and Whitney Sponsors Industry-EPA Pollution Reduction Initiative

Release Date: 04/03/2002
Contact Information: Andrew Spejewski, EPA Press Office, 617-918-1014 Mark Sullivan, Pratt & Whitney, 860-565-4415

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Pratt &Whitney announced today that the Connecticut company has become a corporate sponsor of an innovative industry-EPA program to reduce pollution from the metal finishing industry.

The National Metal Finishing Strategic Goals program is a cooperative effort among the EPA, 21 states, 80 local government agencies (primarily publicly owned water treatment works) and over 400 metal finishers across the country, including 50 in New England. Launched in 1998, the program provides information and other resources to industry participants, and has already resulted in significant, measurable environmental improvements, including a nearly two-thirds reduction in metals discharged to water and air from program participants.

As a corporate sponsor, Pratt & Whitney will host four meetings a year for its metal finishing suppliers, providing information and expertise on how the suppliers can make progress towards the objectives of the Strategic Goals Program. Pratt & Whitney is also exploring how to further encourage its suppliers to improve their environmental performance.

"The Metal Finishing Strategic Goals Program has been enormously successful, and Pratt & Whitney's participation means additional progress in the future,"said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England office. "The corporate sponsorship is a great way to reach these small metal finishing shops and help them improve their environmental performance."

"A key to our success has always been a group of talented, hard working suppliers," said Alfred Mulvey, vice president of world-wide procurement for Pratt & Whitney. "We can take a lead role in helping them improve their operations even more and, most importantly, reduce their environmental impact."

Pratt & Whitney is the second corporate sponsor of the strategic goals program, following the Raytheon Company in 2001.

The Strategic Goals program provides a forum for cooperation among industry and regulators. Industry participants can receive information on best practices and environmental improvements, access technology evaluation programs and participate in an internship program. Participants have set ambitious goals for environmental improvements in seven areas, such as water and energy usage and waste production. Nationally, participants have already achieved significant environmental results, compared to a standardized 1992 baseline. They include:

• 41 percent reduction in water usage
• 14 percent reduction in energy usage
• 77 percent reduction in Organic Toxic Release Inventory releases
• 58 percent reduction in metals released to water and air
• 36 percent reduction in hazardous sludge sent to landfills.