- Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Recognizing Excellence in Sustainability - The Elizabeth R. Varet Sustainability Award
As part of raising the profile of the importance and impact of our sustainability mission, AMETEK has created an award that brings visibility to the company’s best environmental sustainability projects while promoting healthy competition in driving sustainability improvements.
The Elizabeth R. Varet Sustainability Award is named after Elizabeth R. Varet, who retired from AMETEK’s Board of Directors in 2021 following 34 years of service. Ms. Varet was a key influence on the core values that guide our efforts in the areas of social responsibility, corporate philanthropy, stewardship, and governance, so the award is a fitting tribute to her legacy.
Projects eligible for the award must achieve improvements in one or more of the following areas: energy efficiency, carbon emission reduction, waste management improvements, scrap reduction, and waste reuse or recycling. Projects are evaluated on significant and measurable improvements regarding environmental impact, such as pollution prevented, implementation of renewable energy sources, or a reduction in energy, waste, or water.
Two winners were announced in 2021, the award’s inaugural year. The first was AMETEK Micro-Poise, a business unit in Streetsboro, OH, whose cross-functional team implemented a 4R sustainability initiative using the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover model. The project’s focus was to measure and make immediate improvements in energy conservation and waste reduction. Micro-Poise implemented various projects including LED lighting replacement, high-efficiency HVAC system installations, and improved building insulation to reduce their total energy usage and carbon emissions.
The second 2021 winner was AMETEK Programmable Power, based in San Diego, CA. Programmable Power worked closely with their building owner to install a 973-panel photovoltaic system on the facility’s rooftop. The renewable system, which came online in January of 2020, provides a portion of the facility’s energy supply, resulting in lower energy costs and emissions.
“Projects are evaluated on significant and measurable improvements regarding environmental impact, such as pollution prevented, implementation of renewable energy sources, or a reduction in energy, waste, or water.”
The most recent winner for the 2022 award is AMETEK MRO AEM. Located in Ramsgate, UK, AEM received this award for its vacuum evaporation of hazardous waste effluent.
AEM won the award for installing a closed loop evaporation and reverse osmosis system to reuse effluent that is generated by a plating process. By addressing effluent, or wastewater that could potentially flow into vital resources such as rivers, this project prevents hazardous waste from entering natural waterways that our communities depend on. It also led to a meaningful increase in the recycling of water.
To further the impact of this sustainability work, the AMETEK Foundation donates $10,000 on behalf of Elizabeth R. Varet Sustainability Award winners to an environmentally focused non-profit organization.
Assessments are already underway for recipients of the 2023 award, and with AMETEK businesses worldwide expanding their sustainability efforts, we expect to see many more candidates and winners of the Elizabeth R. Varet Sustainability Award.
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