The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the winners of the 2007 Environmental Performance Track Awards that included McNeil PPC in Lancaster County.

Performance Track's 2007 Environmental Performance Awards recognize members that have demonstrated exemplary environmental performance during their participation in the program, particularly during the 2005 calendar year.

The principal evaluation criteria for this award were progress made toward performance goals and the breadth and challenge level of the member's performance commitments.

This evaluation was supplemented with consideration of the member's annual performance report quality, compliance history, and community outreach efforts. This year, there are four recipients of the Performance Track Environmental Performance Award.

McNeil PPC is a leading manufacturer of consumer healthcare products and is becoming a global leader in corporate responsibility.

As a charter member of Performance Track, McNeil's facility in Lititz, Pennsylvania (formerly owned by Pfizer), is doing just that. By 2006, the facility had replaced all equipment containing ozone-depleting CFC refrigerants with less harmful models using HFC refrigerants.

Between 2003 and 2005, despite a 5 percent increase in production, the plant managed to reduce its annual energy use by 7,000 million BTU-a 6-percent decrease. At the same time, the facility reduced its water use by 24 percent, thanks to a hot-loop system that uses high temperature water to kill bacteria, thereby eliminating the need for purging spent process water.

McNeil PPC also improved its condensate recovery system with the installation of new flash tanks, pumps, traps, and high-pressure de-aeration equipment. Modifications in the distribution system and controls for purified water increased the life of filters, thus reducing the volume of water discharged to drains. And by adopting longer production cycles, the plant reduced the number of changeovers and cleanings required for tanks, piping, and vessels.

Since 2003, the plant has reduced sediment runoff to the Chesapeake Bay by 178 tons per year and reduced annual discharges of nitrogen and phosphorous by 1.9 tons. McNeil PPC also was a key partner in a restoration project in the Lititz Run Watershed, which involved restoring a 900- foot stream corridor and floodplain adjacent to the McNeil site.

Specifically, the project entailed cutting a new stream channel, removing more than 7,000 tons of soil from the area, and stabilizing the stream banks using native plants and grasses. For its continued environmental efforts and community outreach, Performance Track is pleased to recognize McNeil PPC with its second Performance Award.

The Performance Track Fifth Annual Progress Report details members' environmental accomplishments from 2000 – 2005. The cumulative results show members reducing their water use by 3.5 billion gallons, greenhouse gas emissions by 97,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, hazardous waste generation by 130,000 tons, and non-hazardous waste generation by 600,000 tons. Members have also restored or protected more than 14,000 acres of wildlife habitat.

The Performance Track program recognizes and drives environmental excellence by encouraging facilities with strong environmental records to go above and beyond their legal requirements.

Members, who include major corporations, small businesses, and public facilities, typically set four public, measurable goals to improve the quality of our nation's air, water, and land. Since the program's inception in June 2000, Performance Track membership has grown to more than 450 facilities in 46 states and Puerto Rico, and members have made more than 1,500 commitments to the environment.

For more information, visit the Environmental Performance Track webpage.

5/11/2007