The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) hosted its annual Environmental Stewardship Initiative (ESI) Conference on October 9-10. The event aimed to provide organizations, including businesses, industries, and government entities, with information on sustainability and pollution prevention practices that can benefit both the environment and the economy.
The ESI program, which began in 2002, is a voluntary effort to promote environmental performance beyond regulatory requirements. It encourages organizations in North Carolina to develop pollution prevention programs and adopt innovative practices.
“I want to thank Environmental Stewardship Initiative members for voluntarily going above and beyond compliance to prevent pollution, drive innovation, and achieve superior environmental performance,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. “The results are phenomenal; over 20 years ESI members have saved more than $118 million, conserved 16 billion gallons of water, and kept 4.4 million tons of waste out of landfills.”
During the two-day conference, participants attended sessions on environmental management topics such as implementing pollution prevention projects and sustainable materials recovery. A leadership panel from DEQ also provided updates on regulations and department programs in an open discussion.
The ESI program currently includes 106 members at 218 sites across North Carolina, representing a range of industry sectors. The program has three achievement levels: Partners, Rising Stewards, and Stewards. This year, there are 31 Stewards, nine Rising Stewards, and 66 Partners.
Awards were presented at the conference to recognize outstanding members. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. received the Rising Steward of the Year award, Pfizer-Sanford was named Steward of the Year, and Sofidel America received the Pollution Prevention Project of the Year award.
Six new members joined the ESI program this year, one new Rising Steward was promoted, and 21 members were recognized for reaching milestones of 5, 10, 15, or 20 years at their respective levels.
From 2004 to 2023, ESI members achieved significant environmental results, including reducing water usage by over 16.2 billion gallons, cutting energy use by about 89.7 million BTUs, avoiding 8.8 billion gallons of wastewater, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1.1 million metric tons, sending 4.4 million fewer tons of waste to landfills, and avoiding nearly 7,000 tons of hazardous waste. These efforts led to financial savings of more than $118.3 million for member facilities.
More information about the Environmental Stewardship Initiative is available at www.ncesi.org.
