Looking for outstanding examples of sustainable business practices? This is the seventh year that Portland, Oregon’s Energy Office has awarded its BEST (Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow) Awards to local companies. Some examples:
Through a public-private partnership, Ash Grove Cement Company installed a 9,400 foot pipeline connecting its manufacturing plant to the landfill. Instead of flaring landfill gas into the atmosphere, it’s used as fuel for three of the company’s lime kilns, reducing Ash Grove’s reliance on fossil fuels to the tune of $2 million a year (equivalent to the gas used to heat 13,000 Portland-area homes for a year).
By replacing a large, central facility with three smaller centers, Portland General Electric brought their utility crews closer to their work, speeding response time and cutting transportation costs. The new buildings incorporate energy saving features – daylighting, electronic dimming ballasts, dual-fuel heat pumps, higher levels of insulation, higher efficiency windows, and outside air economizers – cutting energy use by $50,000 per year, 43 percent lower than comparable buildings. They used low-toxicity building materials and water efficient fixtures, recycled construction debris, built in stormwater runoff retention ponds and constructed a wetland providing habitat for the Northern Red-Legged frog, a species of concern.
Crown Cork & Seal Company manufactures bottle caps and metal and plastic containers. They reduced water use from over 14 million gallons in 1997 to 5.5 million in 1998 by modifying the operation of flow control valves and replacing water-cooled equipment with air-cooled models.
Mt. Scott Family Dental, an example of a small business, eliminated mercury, lead and silver wastes. They use the only mercury separator in the Portland area and use digital dental x-ray technology.
Contact Curt Nichols, Portland Energy Office: curt@ci.portland.or.us
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