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EPA Welcomes Three New Jersey Companies to Program for Environmental Leaders

Release Date: 10/25/2006
Contact Information: Rich Cahill (212) 637-3666, cahill.richard@epa.gov

(New York, NY) The Pfizer Global Manufacturing and Parsippany Logistics Center in Parsippany, the Pictorial Offset Corporation in Carlstadt and L’Oreal USA - Piscataway Manufacturing in Piscataway have volunteered to minimize pollution beyond environmental regulatory requirements while reducing water and energy use. They are among the newest additions to a growing list of facilities that have been accepted into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Environmental Performance Track Program. Members commit to develop a set of processes that will reduce environmental impacts, called an environmental management system, and set three-year goals to continuously improve environmental performance while working closely with their communities and reporting publicly on their performance. There are now 16 facilities in New Jersey that have been accepted into EPA’s Performance Track Program. Nationally, there are over 400 members.

“Performance track members are proving that environmental stewardship and economic prosperity can go hand-in-hand,” said EPA Regional Administrator Alan J. Steinberg. “From Wall Street to Main Street, President Bush and EPA are changing the way individuals and organizations think about their roles in protecting our shared environment.”

The Pfizer Global Manufacturing and Parsippany Logistics Center in Parsippany produces and distributes consumer healthcare and pharmaceutical products. It will lower energy consumption by using energy efficient lighting. The corporation will identify new water conservation opportunities and put them into practice, and plans to cut back on the amount of zinc used in its manufacturing process. In addition, it will provide volunteers to help with land and habitat conservation by removing harmful invasive plants from preserved properties and environmentally sensitive areas in the greater Morris County area, carry out procedures to minimize any chance its facility could impact wetlands and continue to conserve the natural spaces on its property to maintain the wetlands in their natural setting.

The Pictorial Offset Corporation in Carlstadt is a printing company that has promised to plant 5,000 trees, covering 10 acres, in the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge to offset carbon emissions from its facility. As they become available, it will use materials that are less likely to evaporate into the environment in its processes and invest in new equipment to reduce its use of hazardous materials. The corporation also has committed to reduce energy consumption by upgrading its lighting, printing process, office and heating equipment to more energy-efficient equipment.

L’Oreal USA - Piscataway Manufacturing makes luxury cosmetic products for L’Oreal USA in America. The company will divert alcohol waste from its processes to a recycling facility to produce ethanol. It also has committed to reduce its water usage by nearly 2,500,000 gallons by 2008. The company will implement an energy management system to reduce total energy use that will include upgrades to lighting equipment and use of new energy efficient air compressor technology. The company will also consider using renewable sources of energy, including solar and geothermal power.

In order to be accepted into Performance Track, facilities must have a history of sustained compliance with federal and state environmental requirements. They must also adopt and implement environmental management systems to meet environmental requirements and improve overall performance, demonstrate at least two past environmental achievements and commit to four future improvements. In addition, members are required to have public outreach programs to report their progress to the public. EPA is currently accepting new applications for the program.

Members in the Performance Track Program receive a range of incentives such as public recognition and low priority for routine EPA inspections. Facilities are also eligible for several kinds of administrative flexibility and streamlined administrative requirements that reduce costs and enable members to achieve better environmental results. In addition, members benefit from special services, including a learning network composed of top environmental performers that has a mentoring program, tele-seminars, EPA roundtable discussions and newsletters program information, summary of member benefits, application guidelines, and a complete listing of facilities that are Performance Track members can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/performancetrack/. Details on regional members are available at: https://www.epa.gov/region02/performancetrack/. For more information about the Waste Minimization Partnership, visit: https://www.epa.gov/minimize/

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