The applicants and nominees listed below were recognized by the Governor in 1998 for their efforts to protect and enhance the environmental quality of Vermont by conserving natural resources and preventing pollution before it is generated. Where there are multiple award recipients in a single category, the panel of judges did not make a distinction between first, second, and third place winners. Thus, the award recipients are listed alphabetically.

Business/Industry/Trade/Professional Organizations

Large Businesses:

Smugglers’ Notch Management Co. , Ltd. (Jeffersonville, VT) - Smugglers’ Notch is a four season ski and summer resort. They have an active expansion program that includes both residential and commercial construction. Smugglers’ Notch Resort, which has marketed itself aggressively as America’s Family Resort, includes environmental responsibility in the mix of what it means to be responsive to the needs of its employees, its guests, and its neighbors. Smugglers’ admits that they are "not interested in window dressing environmental programs -- the type of warm, fuzzy, feel-good type of programs designed for public relations purposes. They are very aware that to pollute the environment would be to destroy the very product they do market; the natural beauty and cleanliness of the Vermont environment. The Smugglers’ Notch Resort has many on-going pollution prevention, environmental protection and resource conservation initiatives that include leasing the state-of-the-art snowmaking air compressors in order to keep abreast of current emission control technologies, a construction scrap reuse program that is the first in the resort industry, a construction program that builds to Energy Rated Homes of Vermont 5 star specifications, and a domestic sewage management program that uses about 350 bullhead catfish in its primary lagoon to stir up the sludge and thus allowing bacteria in the lagoon to break down more of it.

International Business Machines (IBM Chemical/ Environmental Programs) (Essex Jct., VT) - IBM manufactures semiconductor memory and logic components for computers. A sixth-time award recipient, two teams at IBM are recognized this year for their efforts to prevent pollution. The first team, the PFC Emission Reduction Team, modified a semiconductor cleaning process in order to reduce IBM Burlington’s emission of a global climate change gas. They succeeded in their task by reducing emissions by more than 95%. Their innovative response to the challenge of reducing IBM’s contribution to global climate change, besides its environmental benefits, allows the company to avoid $3 Million in capital expenses and an additional $3-4 Million in annual operating expenses associated with the recycling alternative that would have been required. The cleaning process developed by the IBM team represents the current state of the art. Presently, there are no other viable alternative processes available that meet both the environmental and process performance needs. The process has been publicly disclosed to and discussed with the Semiconductor Industry to help transfer the process to equipment manufacturers that build the process equipment with the intent of quickly disseminating the process throughout the industry.

The second team, the Terminal Metals Engineering Team, modified a process that deposits lead-tin alloy on semiconductor wafers in selected areas of computer chips. This process takes place in a vacuum chamber where the lead-tin alloy is deposited not only on the wafer, but also on stainless steel shields placed in the chamber to avoid deposition on the chamber surfaces. Deposition on the stainless steel shields surfaces meant that approximately every three weeks the lead-tin alloy needed to be chipped from the shields and other exposed surfaces. The still lead-tin coated shields were then sent off-site to a vendor that mechanically and chemically removed the remaining lead-tin coating, generating quantities of lead-contaminated acid solution. Because lead is a toxic pollutant, the Team had both human health and environmental concerns it wanted to address with a practical solution. Their solution, seemingly simple, was actually rather complicated. By coating the shields and other exposed surfaces of the vacuum chamber with the same Teflon that coats much common cookware, they are now able to neatly peel away the layers of lead-tin. The sheets are now reprocessed for reuse. For 1998, it was determined that 4200 shields would no longer need to be sent for cleaning. This meant that they no longer generated 8000 gallons of acid waste and 5000 pounds of lead in the sludge following waste treatment -- and that 67,000 pounds of lead could be reused -- a very satisfactory result; environmentally, economically, and in terms of human health. Once again, IBM reminds us what it means to achieve prosperity without pollution.

Small Businesses:

Upland Bakers & Manghis’ Bread - Trained by years of advertising and consumerism there are few today who can resist or remain unimpressed by what is showy and glitzy. But is showy and glitzy sustainable? Is it environmentally sensitive? The Rabins of Upland Bakers in Plainfield and the Manghis of Manghis’ Bread in Montpelier exemplify what it means to forge a business philosophy and practice that, though neither showy nor glitzy, simultaneously values health, community and the environment. To realize these values in their everyday business operations, the Rabins and the Manghis decided to bake and sell wholesome and healthy bread that is simply and plainly packaged, to remain small and satisfy local markets for their products, and to arrange with friends and neighbors who, in the course of their daily commutes to work, delivered a bag or box of bread to a customer. Sustainable business practices must, almost by definition, provide an accounting of the environmental consequences of production and distribution. Prevention of effluents, emissions and waste needs to be the cornerstone of any business effort to become environmentally sustainable. The Rabins opened Upland Bakers during the height of the OPEC oil crisis, and decided to bake their bread using a wood-fired oven. The decision made early by both bakeries to remain small and to serve local markets made sense then and continues to make good business and environmental sense today. Both the Rabins and the Manghis distribute their bread using a network of drivers who are already commuting the distance separating the bakeries from their customers. By doing so they are saving fuel, they are reducing vehicle miles traveled, and they are, like carpooling, avoiding the emission of harmful air pollutants that would otherwise be emitted by delivery vehicles. The Manghis for example, work with 39 local commuters making 43 deliveries per week to 16 different customers. The customers are all generally within a 25 mile radius of the bakery and include primarily food cooperatives, small locally-owned stores, and restaurants. What this means is that nearly 500 miles are avoided each week because the bread is delivered in a vehicle already traveling to the customer. That also means that approximately 33 gallons of gasoline are saved each week. Translated into air emissions, that means a total of 611 pounds of harmful air pollutants -- are avoided weekly. Building sustainable communities, sustainable businesses, and sustainable lifestyles is important work. This work can only benefit from the good example set by these two small bakers in the Central Vermont area -- Upland Bakers in Plainfield and Manghis’ Bread in Montpelier. Their business operations, like their products, are basic and simple, rooted in the community and sustainable over the long term — business goals that go far to redefine the marketplace and help us to achieve prosperity without pollution.

Burlington Electric Department; McNeil Generating Station (Burlington, VT) - In December of 1997, the Kyoto Conference in Japan established a global initiative to reduce greenhouse gases to counter global warming. Two months later, the Vermont Gasifier Project first produced product gas from wood chips at the McNeil Generating Station in Burlington — a major milestone in an ongoing effort to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases. The gasification project converts wood into a gaseous fuel which is now used in an existing McNeil boiler. The clean gas that is produced is turned into electricity more efficiently than burning the wood itself. Ultimately, the gasifier will be integrated with a 20-megawatt gas turbine. The gas produced by wood chip gasification replaces natural gas as a fuel — greatly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, the project encourages sustainable forestry harvesting and has resulted in the planting of a small grove of more than 5,000 hybrid willow trees at the McNeil Station. These trees, when mature, will be used for energy. The Vermont gasification project satisfies local energy needs using local, natural and renewable energy resources; it significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions; and further reduces the state’s dependence on imported petroleum and hydroelectric power.

Environmental, Community, and Non-Profit Organizations

Vermont Energy Investment Corporation - The Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, located in Burlington, has provided energy efficiency services to consumers, utilities, environmental organizations, municipalities and private sector businesses throughout the state and the nation for ten years. This not-for-profit organization was first recognized with a Governor’s Award in 1993 for their Energy Rated Homes of Vermont program. This program continues to improve the energy efficiency of Vermont's housing stock, to reduce energy-related environmental impacts, and to make housing affordable to more and more Vermonters. This year, the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation is recognized for its efforts to walk the talk. Needing additional office space, the organization converted 7,200 square feet of a warehouse building into the state’s most energy efficient office space. The office space uses 51% less energy than comparable offices, it uses solar hot water that is pumped using photovoltaic — or solar — energy, it was painted with VOC-free paints and carpeted with a flooring material that can be recycled by the manufacturer when it comes time to replace it. The building envelope, heating, cooling, lighting, and electrical system together are estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 tons per year. This project exemplifies and showcases technologies that prevent pollution, conserve energy, and provide a comfortable working environment.

Putney Press - Dumpsters are a little less full these days as reusable materials find more and more homes via Vermont’s free matchmaking service — the Vermont Business Materials Exchange. The Exchange is sponsored and funded primarily by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and managed by Putney Press of Newfane, publishers of environmental publications. Putney Press has played a leadership role in promoting the only Vermont-specific waste exchange program. It operates as a non-profit endeavor, providing education and technical assistance to promote reuse, as well as providing a clearinghouse for posting and locating reusable materials. By focusing on reuse, the Vermont Business Materials Exchange makes a valuable contribution to waste reduction in Vermont, handling materials for which there is no recycling infrastructure in place, or that cannot be recycled efficiently. Even using conservative estimates, the Putney Press reports that in one year’s time the Vermont Business Exchange diverted nearly 230 tons of materials worth upwards of $170,000 from landfills to businesses, schools, and others that reused them. A bit like a tag sale without money, the Vermont Business Materials Exchange and Putney Press help us to go the extra step beyond recycling and confirms the old adage that one person’s trash can indeed be another person’s treasure.

Individual Citizens

Mr. Roy Haynes - Nominated by his wife, Lisa, Roy Haynes is an ardent spokesperson for and practitioner of frugality, or voluntary simplicity. Roy has been dubbed the solution to pollution and credits his success in waste reduction to what we call consumer pollution prevention. Like the pollution prevention practiced in large and small businesses, the key to preventing pollution in our personal lives is not creating waste or using resources in the first place. Roy has made it a full-time job to live more simply and has found countless ways to prevent pollution and conserve resources. With his priorities clear to him, Roy devotes his life energy to creating more free time for himself and for his family, rather than accumulating ever more material possessions. The 20 hours a week he devotes to repairing discarded items, buying and selling items at auctions and flea markets, and tracking down shopping bargains nets him between $15,000 and $18,000 each year. Achieving sustainable lifestyles in Vermont, the nation and throughout the planet requires us all to take more seriously the environmental consequences of our lifestyles, to rethink our behaviors as consumers, and to begin the task of sharing more realistic material expectations for our children. Roy Haynes’ example should help us to be more optimistic about creating a sustainable Vermont.

Institutions (Schools, Hospitals, Municipalities)

Burlington Electric Department - When architects and engineers designed the Information Commons building at Champlain College in Burlington, they included the most energy-efficient lighting and air-handling technologies. Engineers at the Burlington Electric Department would, however, do them all one better by employing a simple, highly-efficient, cost-effective and low-technology system to cool this and other buildings during the hot summer months — using ice. The thermal storage cooling system they developed uses chillers to freeze water in a tank at night during off-peak hours when both electric demand and cost is lowest. The system shaves 90 kilowatts off Champlain College’s and Burlington Electric Department’s peaks and is expected to save the college approximately $10,000 annually in cooling costs alone when additional buildings are connected to the system. Energy is saved and emissions are avoided by shifting to evening power generation and transmission when cooler temperatures allow for greater efficiencies. The Burlington Electric Company’s "New Construction Program" allows the prevention strategy to find its place where it truly belongs — at the very beginning of a project where pollution can most cost-efficiently and successfully be avoided. Through the program, Burlington Electric Department customers are saving $4.0 Million and nearly 40,000 megawatt hours each year. In environmental terms, these pollution prevention projects avoid the release of 31,410 tons of carbon dioxide every year, or 350,480 tons over the life of the completed projects. These savings are equivalent to the removal of more than 70,000 cars from Vermont highways, or the planting of more than 96,000 acres of trees. The Burlington Electric Department again reminds us that achieving prosperity without pollution is something we must do and, even more importantly, something we can do.

Chittenden Solid Waste District - In Vermont’s growing economy, older buildings get renovated and new buildings are introduced to the landscape. Construction and demolition waste often represent from 25 - 40% of the waste going to landfills. To demonstrate that "Once is Never Enough" when it comes to building materials, the Chittenden Solid Waste District served to coordinate an effort to divert building wastes and scraps to Residuum, a building supply reuse marketer in Barre and to recycling facilities in Chittenden County. Throughout late 1997 and early 1998, during construction of Champlain College’s Information Commons the crews of Pizzagalli Construction separated reusable and recyclable materials. During the seven month construction project, more than 35 tons of building materials never made it to the landfill. Instead, 9.5 tons of mostly clean wood, plywood, metal, insulation, and finished wood trim were delivered to Residuum for resale; another 9.5 tons of reusable materials were contributed to workers for reuse. Approximately 14 tons of bricks and concrete and 2.5 tons of corrugated cardboard were recycled. The old New England adage that reminds us to, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." finds new relevance in this collaborative effort to build infrastructure and make it easier for builders to reduce construction and demolition waste in Vermont.

Public Agencies

State of Vermont Purchasing & Contract Administration Division - It’s been said that "If you’re not buying recycled, you’re not really recycling!" The State Purchasing & Contract Administration Division goes this one several times better! Eco-Purchasing means considering attributes such as: recycled content, toxicity, reusability, durability, and repairability before you buy a product. When we practice eco-purchasing in our own lives we bring into our homes products that create a safer and more healthy indoor environment; products that stimulate secondary materials economies for recycled products; and products whose production, use and disposal pose relatively few and small negative environmental consequences. Our environmental impact is collectively that much smaller for our personal contributions made through eco-purchasing. There are, however, approximately seven thousand Vermont state employees. When Vermont state government practices eco-purchasing, our collective contribution toward environmental protection by preventing pollution and conserving resources is even GREATER! The Purchasing & Contract Administration Division has developed contracts and promoted products that utilize recycled content, products that reduce energy usage, products that are long-lasting and that minimize the creation of waste. Since joining the Purchasing Staff in 1996 Ken Feld has embraced environmentally sensitive Purchasing as an important challenge. As a result of Ken's enthusiasm, dedication and professionalism the State now has a contract for non-toxic, environmentally-friendly cleaning products for use in State facilities. Ken also took the lead in developing a contract for chlorine-free recycled copy paper that has been widely accepted by state agencies. The efforts of both Ken Feld and the Purchasing Staff of the State of Vermont help ensure that the State's commitment to environmental excellence is reflected in its procurement decisions.

Vermont Clean State Council - It is clear that State government policies and practices have had and continue to have a significant influence on environmental quality in Vermont, affecting areas as diverse as agriculture, transportation, and energy usage. The practice of pollution prevention by state government means preventing or reducing resource depletion and the generation of waste in daily operations; it means integrating the prevention approach into environmental policy; and it means promoting source reduction, resource efficiency, and environmental responsibility through purchasing policies. To realize these important ends, on Earth Day four years ago, I issued an Executive Order directing state government agencies, departments, and offices to manage wastes by giving preference to options representing pollution prevention or source reduction strategies in advance of those representing recycling, treatment, and disposal options. The Clean State Council, with representatives from each major department and state agency, has been the implementing body for the Executive Order. The work of the Council has served to reduce the environmental consequences of State operations and by stimulating the marketplace for more environmentally sensitive "green" products. Today, state employees work at "Energy Star" rated computers; they use chlorine-free, recycled paper with a high post-consumer recycled content; and they clean state office buildings using non-toxic and less-toxic cleaning supplies. The Clean State Council, through its environmental initiatives, has helped State government to realize more than half a million dollars in savings since 1994. In addition, closed loop recycling initiatives, in which the State buys back products made with its own recycled materials serve as models for other states. That pollution prevention and resource conservation can be used to realize both environmental and economic goals simultaneously is clear. The Clean State Council helps State government to assume its share of the responsibility to keep the Green Mountain State clean and green.

VTANR Award for Exemplary P2 Planning

EHV Weidmann Industries, Inc. (St. Johnsbury, VT) - EHV Weidmann Industries, located in St. Johnsbury, is a manufacturer of electrical grade insulating boards for transformers. Hazardous waste is generated and toxic materials are used in the manufacturing and testing of the boards and from routine maintenance of production equipment in sufficient quantity to require development of a pollution prevention plan under state law passed in 1991. EHV Weidmann, along with approximately 225 other Vermont companies categorized as "Generators" of hazardous waste or "Large Users" of toxic substances, is required to develop a pollution prevention plan that describe how the company intends to eliminate or reduce the generation and use of these materials. While plans are not required to be submitted and are not available as a public record under the statute, EHV Weidmann voluntarily submitted their plan for Agency review. The plan was developed entirely with in-house resources, with much of the actual work being done by Melvin McFarland, the company's Environmental Manager.

EHV Weidmann’s exemplary pollution prevention plan provides a detailed description of the toxics use reduction strategies that are currently being employed or evaluated, including estimates of the pounds of waste/toxics actually reduced or anticipated and the associated cost savings. The plan features: a clear commitment by management to make toxics use and hazardous waste reduction a priority for the company; a concise description of waste generating processes and the quantity of each wastestream generated by those processes; a thorough evaluation of the costs incurred as a result of the generation and management of each wastestream; an assessment of likely alternatives to achieve reductions for each of those wastestreams; and finally, a voluntary implementation schedule for those alternatives deemed to be technically and economically feasible.

If all the strategies identified in the plan were successfully implemented, potential reductions in hazardous waste generation and toxic chemical use could be as much as 67,450 and 121,300 pounds respectively. Exemplary pollution prevention planning can be, and often is, the springboard companies use to achieve and sustain environmental excellence. EHV Weidmann stands in the vanguard of Vermont companies making prevention the strategy of first choice — and finding that pollution prevention pays.