BALTIMORE, MD (June 8, 2011) -- At an event hosted by the Green Building Institute in Jessup last evening, Maryland Department of Environment Secretary Robert Summers, along with Maryland Department of Natural Resources Deputy Secretary Joe Gill and Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Clean Technology and Sustainability Manager Elaine McCubbin, presented the second-annual Maryland Green Registry Leadership Awards. CSX Corporation, E-Structors Inc., the National Aquarium in Baltimore, St. Mary’s County Public Schools, and the University of Maryland, College Park received the awards, presented to organizations that have shown a strong commitment to sustainable practices, measurable results, and continuous improvement.

Governor O’Malley said: “Maryland continues to make choices that protect our environment and public health -- working to restore the Chesapeake Bay and local waterways, protect drinking water, promote clean energy, create green jobs, improve air quality, reduce waste, and preserve land for future generations. Our partners in this effort are Maryland Green Registry members, whose organizations are leading the way in sustainable business practices as they save money and conserve natural resources.”

Winning Maryland Green Registry organizations were chosen based on their commitment to continuous improvement and environmental results achieved to date. A profile on each of the winners is posted online.

MDE Secretary Robert Summers said, “I am proud to present these awards to organizations that have displayed outstanding leadership. Maryland Green Registry Leadership Award Winners work every day to conserve resources and protect our environment, evaluating their practices and measuring their success on a continual basis. Their commitment is outstanding and, as we can see, they are really getting results.”

While they represent a variety of facility types and sizes, all the winners have several key factors in common that contribute to their success: each organization has a green team, has organization-wide commitment to environmental performance, sets annual environmental goals, and measures their results.

 

CSX

• Since 2008, CSX has introduced 21 ultra-low emission GenSet locomotives to its fleet through public-private partnerships, including two in Maryland. These multi-engine locomotives activate only as much power as is needed for each job, dramatically reducing fuel use and noise. GenSet locomotives also reduce nitrous oxide and particulate matter emissions by more than 80 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent.
• In 2009, CSX committed to reducing its CO₂ emissions by 8 percent per revenue ton mile by the end of 2011 and achieved the goal in 2010, one year ahead of schedule. Since 1980, CSX has achieved a more than a 90 percent improvement in fuel efficiency through technology improvements like the GenSet locomotives and idling reduction technology in addition to employee training on fuel efficient train handling.
• As part of its Trees for Tracks program, CSX has pledged to plant a new tree for each of the 21,000 miles of track on the CSX rail network.

 

E-Structors

• E-Structors, an electronics recycling facility in Elkridge, Maryland is both ISO 14001:2004 and R2 (Responsible Recycling) Certified. ISO 14001 is the global standard for Environmental Management Systems and R2 is the stringent industry standard for electronics recycling. By adhering to these standards, E-Structors is able to provide clients with ethically and environmentally responsible recycling services while still maintaining a high level of data security.
• In 2010, E-Structors diligently worked to reevaluate and minimize the waste stream at its facility in Elkridge. After a year-long revaluation of their processes and waste output, they achieved the 100 percent landfill free mark in February 2011. The company achieved this by finding ways to reduce their overall waste stream through increased operational efficiency and by identifying new opportunities to recycle material such as shrink wrap and broken wooden pallets. These practices have helped them reduce their waste from an 8-yd. dumpster that was emptied daily to a single compactor that is emptied and sent to a waste to energy facility twice monthly.

 

National Aquarium

• In 2010, the Aquarium initiated a composting program, and more than 31,050 pounds of composted waste from the café kitchens, animal prep kitchens, and visitor and staff dining areas was collected and hauled to a composting facility instead of a landfill. As part of its efforts, the Aquarium engaged all of its partners and staff.
• The Aquarium has successfully connected a 40,000 gallon cistern that captures rain water from the roof and provides water to the native plantings on the plaza.
• As part of the Aquarium's extensive volunteer coordination efforts, 119 acres of wetland forests, marshes, sand dunes, and riparian buffers have been restored since 1999.
• The Aquarium has also improved the efficiency of their lighting and lighting controls, including changing the trademark blue wave lighting on the exterior of the building to LED lighting, saving 70 percent in energy consumption over the older blue neon lights.

 

St. Mary’s County Public Schools

• St. Mary’s County Public School’s mission to “Work, Live, and Learn for Tomorrow” is a collaborative effort between the Division of Supporting Services, the teachers, and the students. Each school has a designated Green School Coordinator and 14 of 27 schools have been named Maryland Green Schools. Their goal is to have all schools certified by 2013.
• A program called Utility Direct by SchoolDude tracks and analyzes energy usage by school and by square foot. Utility waste, savings opportunities, and billing errors are identified, analyzed and made available to the Green School Coordinators. This information allows the Coordinators to work with their school teams to reduce energy consumption. As incentive for these efforts is a monthly Capture the Flag contest.
• Energy conservation is also promoted through a mobile classroom and through their Green School Detective mascot, Wattson the terrapin.
• The school system has reduced energy consumption by 5 percent annually for the past four years at a cost savings of $1.2 million.
• The school system has built a LEED™ Gold certified school, which serves as a sustainable teaching tool. They also recently completed a 500 kW solar panel installation, which will provide 80 percent of the annual electrical consumption of the school and generate savings of $1.4 million over fifteen years.

 

University of Maryland, College Park

• The University of Maryland, College Park completed its first climate action plan in 2009 and has made great strides toward its goal of eliminating its carbon footprint by 2050.
• Campus emissions decreased 8.5 percent between 2005 and 2009, despite campus growth. This was achieved in part through a lighting retrofit project that reduced energy consumption by 73 percent in hallways across campus, efforts that will reduce energy consumption by 22 percent in nine buildings, and installation of more than 2,700 photovoltaic panels on the roof of the Severn Building, which once completed, will be one of the largest solar projects in the Washington, D.C. area.
• Students created a Student Sustainability Fee and put their 2010 funds into purchasing renewable energy credits that support wind and solar energy projects, putting Maryland 7th on the EPA College and University Green Power Purchasers list.
• The campus has also achieved a recycling and composting rate of 62 percent in 2010, an all-time high.

 

The Department of the Environment also announced collective results that were self-reported by participating organizations. The nearly 300 Green Registry members, over a single year, reported the following annual results: 740,000 lbs of hazardous waste reduced; 6.7 million lbs of nonhazardous waste reduced; 741 million lbs of non-hazardous waste recycled; 3.3 million gallons of wastewater reduced; 2.1 million gallons of fuel saved; 2.4 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduced; 378 million kWh electricity saved; 117.4 million gallons of water conserved; and 2.4 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO₂e) -- greenhouse gas emissions measurements -- reduced. They also reported saving $65 million.

The Maryland Green Registry is a voluntary program launched by Governor O’Malley as part of the Smart, Green and Growing Initiative to promote and recognize sustainable practices by organizations throughout the state. The free program offers tips and resources to help organizations set and meet their own goals on the path to sustainability.

Learn more or join today at: www.green.maryland.gov/registry.

 

 

###