RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality recognized the newest members of its Environmental Stewardship Initiative (ESI) Thursday for their outstanding commitment to environmental excellence during the ESI’s virtual annual conference.
“Members of the state’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative understand that there is an economic benefit to protecting North Carolina’s natural resources,” said DEQ Secretary Michael S. Regan. “They choose to make changes that go above and beyond what is required to ensure that their businesses operate in a way that reduces their environmental footprint to protect North Carolina’s environment for future generations.”
The following new members were recognized for their commitment to compliance, environmental performance goals and/or development of an environmental management system:
- New Rising Steward – Cree|Wolfspeed
- Seven new Environmental Partner sites – Alphagary, CW Wright Construction Company LLC, Flowserve, Inc., The Hempville, Tarboro Brewing Company, Unilever, and Zero Waste Recycling, LLC.
In addition, nine Stewards and two Rising Stewards were recognized for achieving renewal at these respective levels in the following five-year increments:
- 5-year – United States Environmental Protection Agency at Research Triangle Park (Steward)
- 5- year – TE Connectivity - Greensboro (Steward)
- 10- year – Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC - Wilson NC (Steward)
- 10- year – Dell Technologies - Apex Manufacturing (Steward)
- 10- year – Engineered Sintered Components - Troutman (Steward)
- 10- year – Two Rivers Utilities Water Plant - Gastonia (Steward)
- 15- year – Corning Incorporated ‐ Wilmington Optical Fiber (Steward)
- 15- year – Fleet Readiness Center East - Cherry Point (Steward)
- 15- year – GKN Driveline North America, Inc.-Roxboro Assembly (Rising Steward)
- 15- year – Hyster-Yale Group - Greenville (Rising Steward)
- 15- year – Two Rivers Utilities Wastewater Treatment Division - Gastonia (Steward)
The ESI program currently has 190 member sites located across the state, and consists of three levels: Partners, Rising Stewards and Stewards, the highest level of achievement. This year, the program is made up of 29 Stewards, 12 Rising Stewards, and 149 Partner sites.
During this week’s annual conference, which coincides with national Pollution Prevention Week, ESI members and other business representatives learned about energy efficiency best practices, water reduction strategies, recycling markets and regulatory topics. From 2004 to 2019, ESI members reported a total financial savings at the facilities based on environmental reductions of more than $95 million.
The ESI promotes and encourages superior environmental performance by North Carolina organizations. This voluntary program was established in 2002 to stimulate the development and implementation of programs that use pollution prevention and innovative approaches to meet and exceed regulatory requirements.
For more information, visit the Environmental Stewardship Initiative’s website, www.ncesi.org, or contact Angela Barger, Environmental Stewardship Initiative Manager, at 877-623-6748 or esi@ncdenr.gov.