P2 Project/Program Award:  CenterPoint Energy  (Houston, TX)

CenterPoint Energy's (CPE) Energy Star Homes program requires new home construction to be 15% more energy efficient than even the new residential building code. The elements at the core of their success are utilizing advertising, influencing builders, and developing the home energy rating and inspection infrastructure. Education, training, and outreach are the principles that CPE utilizes in order to attain their goals. The program is projected to produce cumulative savings of $5 million per year for over 30 years. This program is responsible for preventing over 83 million pounds of air pollution to date in the Houston area, which is an EPA air quality non-attainment area.

P2 Project/Program Award:  City of Austin  (Austin, TX)

The City of Austin, TX and the State Energy Conservation Office, with the help of Austin Energy, converted 5,200 traffic signals and 3,600 pedestrian crossing signals at approximately 600 intersections throughout the City of Austin, from incandescent bulbs to more efficient light emitting diode (LED) technology. This project has an expected total electrical savings of 8.5million kwh/yr and $1.2 million per year in electrical costs. The reduced electrical consumption alone will reduce power plant emissions by the equivalent of taking 1,300 cars off the road each year. In addition to conserving energy, LED bulbs require less frequent replacement which saves time, money, improves worker safety, and lessens traffic congestion resulting from bulb changing crews.

P2 Project/Program Award:  City of St. Cloud Wastewater Treatment Facility  (St. Cloud, MN)

The City of St. Cloud, MN Wastewater Treatment Facility’s phosphorous management plan was developed with the goal to reduce the amount of phosphorous that enters the Mississippi River by optimizing the treatment facility’s operations. Through extensive research, studies, pretreatment programs, and educational outreach programs, they were able to reduce the amount of phosphorus coming to the facility (influent) by 20% and reduce the amount leaving the facility (effluent) by 40%.

P2 Project/Program Award:  City of Superior  (Superior, WI)

The City of Superior, WI prevents pollution in the forms of mercury, dioxin, and stormwater. They approached the problem from a variety of angles, first establishing which facilities to target, then developing specialized plans, and lastly implementing a mercury education, outreach, and recycling program. Their pollution prevention projects include a mercury reduction program, stormwater pollution prevention, burn barrel education, and general pollution prevention education projects. Their educational efforts have made a more knowledgeable citizenry that is more capable and effective in their environmental efforts.

P2 Project/Program Award:  Mannington Mills, Inc.  (Salem, NJ)

Mannington Mills, Inc. decreased both volatile organic compound (VOC) and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions. In the early 1990's, Mannington began researching the use of water-based inks for their printing operations. They completely replaced solvent inks by the end of 1996. Throughout the late 1990's, Mannington chemists and valued ink suppliers continued to formulate even more environmentally sound inks. By the end of 2002, they were able to convert exclusively to "ultra-low VOC" inks. As a result of these beyond-compliance efforts, Mannington saves 8.4 million kwh of electricity, 40 million cubic feet of natural gas, and over $340,000 to their bottom line, annually. On their printing lines, VOC emissions in the air have decreased by 268 tons over the past 7 years, an 86% reduction. Fuel burning emissions such as NOx, SOx, CO2, CO, and particulates were reduced by over 80% as were fire risks, odors, and process noise.

P2 Project/Program Award:  Minnesota Technical Assistance Program  (Minneapolis, MN)

The Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) student intern program is being honored for their work over the past 20 years assisting companies with waste reduction and pollution prevention. Beginning in 1985, MnTAP implemented a program that not only educates students about pollution prevention approaches, but allows companies to gain from reduced waste and cost savings as well. It also affords MnTAP the ability to learn about new P2 technical practices they can share with other companies. Over the course of the past 20 years, the program has employed 118 interns and resulted in 7 million pounds of waste and 109 million gallons of water conserved. The savings to the companies was documented at $4.6 million, resulting in a return on investment of $7 for every dollar spent on the intern program by the companies.   http://www.mntap.umn.edu/interns/student/

P2 Project/Program Award:  Mohegan Tribe  (Uncasville, CT and Norwich, CT)

The Mohegan Tribe is being honored for their environmental protection department’s outstanding pollution prevention program. They have done work implementing fuel cell technology, photovoltaics, heat pumps, and in recycling food and other materials. The Mohegan Sun Resort installed infrared sensors in hotel rooms for heating and lighting, and established a rainforest in Costa Rica to sequester carbon produced by the casino. Mohegan Sun, the third largest casino in the United States, is also a member of the Mohegan Nation, a leader in “green purchasing” that requires every employee to  take a course on pollution prevention.

P2 Project/Program Award:  New Hampshire Pollution Prevention Internship Program  (Durham, NH)

A collaboration between the University of New Hampshire (UNH), the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 created the NH Pollution Prevention Internship Program in 1995. This combined effort of business, academia, and government has increased the level of awareness and acceptance of pollution prevention in the state of New Hampshire. Not only do the companies gain from reduced waste and cost savings, but also students are afforded the ability to learn about new pollution prevention approaches. To date, nearly 100 students and 50 facilities have benefited from this program. The facilities have not only achieved significant environmental benefits but have also saved more than $3 million a year. As a result of their successes, they have been asked to aid in the establishment of programs in other states as well as globally.

P2 Project/Program Award:  Pfizer  (Lititz, PA)

Pfizer Lititz, the major supplier of Listerine mouthwash brands to the world market, reduced waste and instated a mouthwash reclamation process. Through the use of a new method of cleaning tanks and product lines along with the optimization of all available resources, they were able to reduce mouthwash waste by 14%. Management has demonstrated its commitment to the company’s environmental goals by funding this effort despite higher initial costs over disposal.  

P2 Project/Program Award:  Sud-Chemie, Inc.  (Louisville, KY)

Sud-Chemie reduced water consumption and chemical pollution. Through Sud-Chemie’s work developing new catalyst preparation and synthesis technologies over the past several years, they were able to achieve zero wastewater discharge, zero nitrate discharge, very low to no NOx release, reduced energy consumption, and consume 16 to 20 times less water than the conventional precipitation process.

P2 Project/Program Award:  Washington State Department of Ecology  (Olympia, WA)

Washington State Department of Ecology's (Ecology) Technical Resources for Engineering Efficiency (TREE) team provides free in-depth technical assistance to businesses in six areas: solid waste, hazardous waste, water quality, water resources, spills, and toxic cleanup. Since the program’s inception in 1998, TREE has made recommendations that saved companies a total of $983,000, reduced hazardous waste generation by 229,000 pounds, solid waste generation by 124 tons, chemical use by 194,000 pounds, and water use by 160 million gallons annually.  

P2 Project/Program Award:  West Des Moines Community School District  (West Des Moines, IA)

West Des Moines Community School District performed a myriad of environmentally sound practices including chemical avoidance, reuse, source reduction, and education programs. These programs are both economically beneficial and environmentally valuable. One of the pollution prevention programs the school district implemented was through the integrated pest management service, the company contracted to handle the pest problem in the schools. This program focused on preventative measures such as eliminating pest entry, food sources, and harborage. Non-chemical removal techniques were the first course of action including trapping, baiting, or vacuuming as opposed to chemical pesticides. As a result, the West Des Moines Community School District expects to cut the application of pesticides by 50% yearly.

P2 Project/Program Award:  Wright-Patterson Air Force Base  (Dayton, OH)

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) reduced solid wastes generated as a result of construction and demolition projects. In addition to the financial benefit from a total disposal cost avoidance of over $260,000, WPAFB also achieved an unprecedented solid waste diversion rate of almost 82%. Those items that were not reused at the base were donated to local Habitat for Humanity projects and other charitable organizations. 500 pounds of batteries were recovered, 325 tons of debris in waste streams was avoided, and 400 door knobs and locksets were reused on base. The remaining materials were shipped to New York and Kentucky for re-milling.

P2 Publications and Writing Award:  New York Academy of Sciences  (New York, NY)

The Harbor Consortium of the New York Academy of Sciences received the Publications and Writing Award for their publication, “Pollution Prevention and Management Strategies for Mercury in the New York/New Jersey Harbor.” Initiating the project in 2000, the Harbor Consortium’s aims were “to identify pollution prevention (P2) strategies for several key contaminants affecting the Harbor…Utilizing an industrial ecology framework, coupled with economic assessments, and informed by a recently conducted public opinion survey.” The Consortium was able to develop P2 recommendations that were, “scientifically sound, economically feasible, and acceptable to residents and businesses.”   https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267376337_Pollution_prevention_and_management_strategies_for_mercury_in_the_New_YorkNew_Jersey_Harbor

P2 Champion Award:  Lena Ferris

Lena Ferris was an Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) Project Manager for the P2 Grants and Environmental Justice Through P2 program for 10 years. She was responsible for providing guidance and leadership on funding, measurement, and EPA-State collaboration. She also managed a partnership between senior level state P2 managers and the OPPT that forged a close working relationship resulting in research, promotion, and implementation of P2 policies and activities.

P2 Champion Award:  Harry Gregori

Harry Gregori recently retired from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) after almost 20 years. During his tenure at DEQ, he was a tireless advocate for P2. He oversaw the state's first P2 efforts in the late 1980’s with the creation of the Virginia Waste Minimization program and guided the program to become multimedia in the early 1990’s. In his latter years with DEQ, he was invaluable in providing staff with the leadership and support necessary to create the following highly successful programs: the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program, the state's P2 partnership program with over 20 Department of Defense facilities, Virginia’s first P2 energy efficiency initiative, the regional Businesses for the Bay program, and DEQ's own internal environmental management system.