Health Department Recognizes Robinson, Moon Companies for Voluntary Pollution Prevention Efforts

The Allegheny County Health Department has presented four local businesses and institutions, including two from the Robinson-Moon area, with Enviro-Star awards for voluntarily adopting significant pollution prevention practices in 2012.

The award winners of the Pittsburgh Green Workplace Challenge for 2012 are:

• Bayer Corp. of Robinson Township for actions resulting in significant energy, water, waste and emission reductions, as reflected in its first place finish in the large business category.   

• Eaton Corp. of Moon Township for actions resulting in significant energy, water, waste and emission reductions, as reflected in its first place finish in the medium-sized business category.

• Evolve Architecture of East Liberty for actions resulting in significant energy, water, waste and emission reductions, as reflected in its first place finish in the small business category.

Phipps Conservatory of Oakland also earned an award for completion of the Center for Sustainable Landscapes, which meets or exceeds the world’s three highest green standards:  The Living Building Challenge; LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum; and Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) for landscape structures.

Pollution prevention not only protects the environment and public health but also benefits the bottom line through waste reduction and conservation of resources, according to the county health department.

Pollution prevention measures include eliminating or reducing waste by modifying production processes, using non-toxic or less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques and re-using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream. 

For more information about the Enviro Star awards visit the Health Department’s web site at www.achd.net, and to learn more about pollution prevention and how it can benefit the environment and a company’s bottom line visit www.epa.gov/p2/.