The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday recognized the James E. Van Zandt Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Altoona, Blair County for reducing the facility’s environmental impact by increasing its hybrid vehicle fleet by 125 percent.

The Altoona facility was one of six organizations nationwide recognized for their achievements in EPA’s Federal Green Challenge competition where participants take steps to improve efficiency, save resources, and reduce costs.

Also recognized with regional award for waste reduction, education and outreach was the Department of Veterans Affairs Wilkes-Barre Medical Center in Luzerne County.

“Federal agencies across the country are doing their part to minimize their environmental impact, in doing so saving American taxpayers millions of dollars,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said. “Their efforts resulted in an estimated cost savings of $17 million across the federal government.” 

The James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center was honored in the transportation category for increasing its fleet of hybrid vehicles from four to nine in 2016.

The facility, located in the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, strives each year to provide maximum pollution reduction with projects that include reducing its use of paper, continual lighting upgrades with LED fixtures and development of a wetlands pond for stormwater management.

Through their efforts, Federal Green Challenge participants nationwide have reduced the federal government’s environmental impact by reducing fuel oil consumption by more than 500,000 gallons, sending 310 tons of end-of-life electronics to third-party certified recyclers, saving 9.2 million gallons of industrial water, and diverting over 336,000 tons of waste from landfills.

The Federal Green Challenge, now in its fifth year, is a yearlong commitment under EPA's Sustainable Materials Management Program in which participants focus on efficiently managing their resources to reduce the costs of building operations, maintenance and supplies. Specifically, participants track their data in two of six categories for a year.

For more information and a list of all winners, visit EPA’s Federal Green Challenge webpage.

[Posted: July 12, 2017]

7/17/2017