Dan Wyant, left, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, stands with GM's Pamela Jamieson, senior environmental engineer; Tim Core, senior environmental engineer, and David Schuster, manufacturing engineering manager.
General Motors may be more than a century old, with several decades-old facilities still in operation, but the company is making strides toward improving its environmental footprint.
This week, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality recognized six General Motors sites for excellence in local community environmental projects and partnerships. The Lansing Delta Township Assembly, Orion Assembly, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, Warren Transmission, Romulus Engine and Flint Metal Center received Neighborhood Environmental awards.
“We help our facilities’ environmental efforts go further by incorporating community activities like mentoring students on water quality and enhancing habitats surrounding our plants,” said Susan Kelsey, a GM Environmental Group facilities manager. “To be an environment leader, we need to share our knowledge with other organizations and residents to inspire eco-friendly action.”
GM is reducing its facilities’ impact through energy efficiency, resource preservation and waste reduction, the company said in a statement. Each of these environmental commitments can benefit the greater community. GM’s winning manufacturing facilities are collaborating with area organizations, residents and students throughout the year to spread environmental awareness.
Some of GM’s efforts to be good environmental stewards includes:
- All participated in GM GREEN (Global Rivers Environmental Education Project) by monitoring rivers with local students and examining significant watershed impacts.
- All celebrated Earth and Arbor Day with activities like tree plantings and butterfly house builds, many of which involved collaboration with area schools.
- Four plants feature areas certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council, which are developed to enhance and protect wildlife and educate people on conservation.
- All facilities have robust recycling programs, two of which developed a used printer cartridge recycling program where proceeds enabled sponsored schools to buy electronics. Plus, the Detroit-Hamtramck plant converts its paint sludge into energy to help power the facility and take pressure off the grid.
- Detroit-Hamtramck – which is where GM produces the Chevrolet Volt – partnered with Wayne State University engineering students on their senior design projects, which focused on reducing the plant’s environmental impact.
The plants also work with Williams and Lasky Recreation Centers in Detroit, the Michigan Forest Association, Great Lakes Recycling, the Clinton River Watershed Council, Friends of the Rouge, Eaton Conservation District, Woldumar Nature Center, Waste Management Eagle Valley Landfill and Greater Lansing Adventist School.
To be eligible for the Neighborhood Environmental Partner award, an organization must be a designated Clean Corporate Citizen and Pollution Prevention Partnership facility. Recipients are compliant with all applicable state environmental regulations and improve their immediate environments and communities.