The Wildlife Habitat Council this week announced it will honor PPG Industries Inc. and Bayer Corporation, both headquartered in Pittsburgh, as Signature of Sustainability sites.

PPG and Bayer are two of only 21 companies across the nation to receive this prestigious honor, and Pittsburgh is the only city in which more than one company is being recognized.

The Signature of Sustainability initiative is a one-time recognition program that aligns with WHC's 20th anniversary celebration, marking two decades of successfully promoting conservation and environmental awareness throughout corporate America and the world.

The 21 honorees were selected by a Blue Ribbon Committee of judges and were evaluated based on a ranking system with points given per-level of involvement in focus areas, such as environmental education, habitat enhancement and community involvement.

PPG's 185-acre plot of woodlands and meadows, and Bayer's 200-acre wildlife and wetland reserve, have been certified by the WHC as natural habitats for more than eight years.

Both companies utilize their land to provide public educational programs that go above and beyond the standards set forth by WHC's Corporate Lands for Learning and Wildlife at Work curricula.

For instance, PPG's 1,000 square-foot pollination meadow highlights the Monroeville Chemical Center property, which features a milkweed plot for monarch butterfly breeding. Each fall, PPG employees assist students from Gateway and Franklin Regional school districts as they capture, tag and release monarchs through the University of Kansas' Monarch Watch and WHC's Wings of Wonder programs.

Similarly, Bayer Corporation's headquarters in Robinson Township uses Wings of Wonder to give employees and outside organizations, such as Boy Scouts of America, a unique opportunity to study Western Pennsylvania's bluebird population.

The site also holds a pond study module in the spring and fall that challenges elementary-school students to apply classroom learning to a real-world environment as they explore food webs, micro-organisms and the importance of wetland stewardship.

"These Signatures of Sustainability make the communities around them a better place for both biodiversity and learners of all ages, and they represent the very highest standards for a WHC program," said Johnson. "We hope the Signatures of Sustainability will inspire even greater engagement by companies in voluntary actions for the conservation of biodiversity."

In celebration of this recognition, PPG and Bayer hosted a collaborative, two-day interactive workshop on August 28-29 for employees, which will include an award ceremony and dinner at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.

The event is designed to honor the extensive conservation education and outreach efforts of employee-based WHC teams at both sites. An active agenda is set to feature a tour of each habitat, an open forum for discussion and hands-on experience for attendees who wish to learn more about Bayer and PPG's environmental education programs.

Representatives of other certified WHC sites from the Pittsburgh region will also be in attendance at the workshops to promote dialogue and the sharing of best practices.

For more information on the Signature of Sustainability initiative, please contact Thelma Redick, WHC Director of Conservation and Education, by phone: 301-357-4864 or send email to: thelma.redick@verizon.net .

8/29/2008