The PA Resources Council Thursday presented its 2013 Environmental Leadership Awards to four companies and organizations at their annual awards dinner in King of Prussia. The awards were presented to--
Leadership In Sustainability - Liberty Property Trust
Liberty Property Trust, founded by the late developer William G. Rouse III, is a renowned environmental partner in the real estate industry. Liberty Property Trust is a leader in sustainable development with over 67 LEED projects completed or currently under construction. Measured against a 2008 benchmark they have diverted 34,000 tons of waste from landfills and saved 30K metric tons of carbon dioxide for their managed buildings.
The goal of Liberty Property Trust is to enhance people’s lives through creating extraordinary work environments. In addition, they have over 100 buildings that are Energy Star certified. Their commitment to sustainable environmental construction and attention to improving building performance along with promoting health and productivity of the occupants makes LPT an outstanding candidate to receive this year’s award.
Liberty Property Trust leads the way in converting former industrial sites into green office and industrial buildings. Their leadership in developing LEED-certified properties and managing them in accordance with sustainability principles is evident in Pennsylvania such as the Philadelphia Naval Business Center and the Comcast Center in Philadelphia, as well as the Stabler Center in the Lehigh Valley.
Liberty Property Trust’s commitment to create work environments that limit resource consumption, improve building performance, and promote health and productivity exemplifies PRC’s mission to lead and promote individual and collective actions to preserve Pennsylvania’s environmental resources for each generation. For these reasons, we are proud to honor Liberty Property Trust as PRC’s recipient of the 2013 Leadership in Environmental Sustainability Award.
Leadership In Education - The Hershey Company
We are honored to present the Leadership in Environmental Education Award to The Hershey Company who continues its exemplary 100+ years’ tradition of leading improvements in communities where its employees live, work and do business. Corporate Social Responsibility is an integral part of the company’s global business strategy.
Following in their founder’s legacy, The Hershey Company focuses their philanthropic efforts on non-profits supporting kids and kids at risk. The Milton Hershey School, established in 1909 by the company’s founder and funded by a trust administered by Hershey Trust Company, provides a quality education, housing and medical care at no cost to children in social and financial need.
In addition to their commitment to education, The Hershey Company also embraces its role as a steward of the environment. The Company fully believes it is its duty to take an active role in the business of building a better world. As a result, The Hershey Company has committed to making and delivering products in ways that are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.
The Hershey Company now has eight facilities that are classified as Zero Waste to Landfill, meaning these facilities no longer dispose of routine manufacturing waste into landfills. This was achieved by reducing the overall waste streams in these facilities and increasing the recycling rates to approximately 90 percent. All remaining waste is sent to waste to energy incinerators, where it is used to produce energy rather than being sent to a landfill.
The Hershey Company’s environmental efforts not only include developing innovative ways to reduce the Company’s environmental impact, but also include supporting environmental education initiatives.
Through the “Make a Greener Difference” campaign, employees of The Hershey Company engage in environmental education and awareness programs. Employees are invited to attend presentations, events and explore online materials about how they can help the company reach environmental goals.
The Hershey Company also supports environmental education initiatives in school districts throughout Central Pennsylvania. Through funding from The Hershey Company, over 5,000 students in Central Pennsylvania have benefited from more than 200 Environmental Education Programs since 2010.
The programs, which align with the Pennsylvania academic standards for Environment & Ecology, help students think critically about environmental issues and make connections to the world around them. These programs serve an important role as they encourage students to become stewards of the environment, both now and in the future.
In addition, The Hershey Company has been a sponsor and major supporter of the Pennsylvania Envirothon at both the state and local levels for over 20 years. The Envirothon is an educational competition that challenges more than 15,000 students across the state each year to think critically about the natural world and about their role in it.
PRC appreciates and is proud to recognize The Hershey Company for its longtime commitment to environmental stewardship and education. The Company’s foresight in recognizing that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s environment is vital to all of its citizens, businesses and institutions defines The Hershey Company as an outstanding leader.
Innovative Recycling - NOVA Chemicals
Taking Care: The work at NOVA Chemicals results in plastic products that take care of food, water and other goods vital to life. Taking Care is a way to think and a way to work. NOVA Chemicals takes care to promote the safety, security and value of products throughout their lifecycle.
Following a successful pilot program encouraging employees to recycle their “foam from home,” NOVA Chemicals extended its effort to the community by partnering with the Pennsylvania Resources Council to collect expandable polystyrene (EPS) for recycling free of charge to the public at 2013 PRC events.
Partnering with PRC and Appliance Warehouse enabled NOVA Chemicals to expand EPS recycling opportunities by creating greater public awareness and establishing a convenient collection method at a variety of locations. This campaign also created a model within the industry for other communities to leverage EPS in their recycling efforts.
Since the Spring of 2013, five PRC events held throughout western Pennsylvania have enabled hundreds of local citizens to drop off unwanted EPS foam for recycling.
In addition to establishing the EPS recycling events, NOVA Chemicals continues to support EPS recycling by collecting EPS coffee cups and packaging for recycling at all of its U.S. locations, and in 2013, NOVA Chemicals launched a 25 percent recycled content EPS resin product, R625B, which is used in packaging applications. PRC is proud to partner with NOVA Chemicals to initiate this innovative recycling program and to bring this concept to our Pittsburgh area citizens.
Leadership In Environmental Health - Crozer-Keystone Health System
PRC is very proud to honor the efforts of the Crozer-Keystone Health System and the Chester Home Asthma Prevention Program for their excellent work in children’s asthma management.
In 1999, the Chester Upland School District experienced asthma at a rate of 24 percent, twice the state level of 10 percent. In response Crozer began the Kids Asthma Management Program, a school-based asthma intervention program which provides services that include: asthma screening, referral to spirometry, group education for students, parents and school staff and support of asthma camps and asthma awareness days.
In 2010, the program partnered with a local environmental justice community organization, the Chester Environmental Partnership to implement an indoor/outdoor home intervention and environmental remediation and education program using peer counselors.
This program, the Chester Home Asthma Prevention Program sought to increase the asthma self-management skills/health literacy of parents and their children ages 0 to 17. CHAPP was funded by a three-year EPA grant administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
CHAPP conducted outreach to 382 families and was able to enroll 132 children.Two of the primary goals of CHAPP were to reduce frequency of children’s asthma flares and improve asthma control. The data showed significant improvement for both of these goals.
For both children above and below the age of 12, there was a significant improvement in pre-and posttest asthma control scores, in addition to a decrease in visits to the emergency room. CHAPP prompted families to make changes to reduce triggers in the home and be more diligent partners with their medical providers.
The families that participated in CHAPP also were more likely to complete and share the Asthma Action Plan. By the end of the program, there was a 38 percent increase in the number of children with an AAP. Data analysis also showed a substantial decrease in the number of school days missed and the frequency of the use of rescue medications.
Although CHAPP’s three-year EPA grant ended in 2012, Crozer continues to support pediatric asthma control and earmarks corporate funds for such. In November 2012, Crozer initiated and hosted the Pediatric Asthma Task Force of Delaware County.
Crozer continues its leadership role and comprehensive approach to asthma control, a major chronic illness within its service area. Crozer Keystone and the Environmental Partnership continue to seek new community partners to support and expand this important work.
To commend these efforts, PRC will present the leadership in environmental health award to Crozer-Keystone Health System for the Chester Home Asthma Prevention Program and their continued support of children’s asthma management.
Sponsors of the Awards Dinner include: The Hershey Company, Pembroke North, Covanta Energy, Exelon Power, Liberty Property Trust, Republic Services, Drinker, Biddle & Reath, LLC, Land Air Water Legal Solutions, LLC, Nova Chemical, Wawa, Inc., Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, PC, Aqua PA, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC and Waste Management.
Click Here for a copy of the awards dinner program.
Click Here for a copy of the awards dinner program.
