SP Participates in AAMA Summit on Sustainability

SP was pleased to have the opportunity to be a collaborator in AAMA's Summit for Sustainability, held on August 19 in Huntsville, AL, and to have the opportunity to share information on advancing sustainability in the auto supply chain with leading manufacturers in the Southeast United States.

AAMA's Summit for Sustainability in Materials & Manufacturing offered a forum to discuss changes in environmental sustainability practices, and to inform manufacturing leaders and decision makers of best practices, smart solutions and innovations available to their organizations.

SP's Executive Director Steve Hellem led the Summit's panel discussion on Sustainability as a Strategic Advantadge, which included speakers from DENSO, EFI Automotive, Honda, Sonoco, and USBGC Alabama. The panelists discusses strategic advantadges they have gained from sustainability in areas such as operations, product, supply chain, brand, and employee engagement.

Don Harris, Program Manager of SP's Alianza Verde Automotriz (AVA) initiative, also led a panel discussion at the Summit on The Future of Water, which included speakers from Ford and TVA. The panel highlighted the critical value of water to industry, and discussed strategies industry is adopting to address water risks.

In addition, SP's Materials Efficiency Chair, John Bradburn of GM, gave a keynote presentation on How Companies Evolve into Smart Global Citizens, and SP member Kevin Butt of Toyota spoke on a panel on Global Policy, Local Initiatives moderated by Kathleen Salyer, US EPA.

SP looks forward to future opportunities to engage with the AAMA community, and continue the great discussions begun at this Summit.

SP 3rd Quarter Meeting - August 18, Hunstville, Alabama

On August 18, 2016 Covanta hosted SP's 3rd Quarter meeting at its facility in Huntsville, AL. Participants had an opportunity to tour Covanta's Huntsville facility during the meeting and see how their resource recovery process works.

The meeting included discussions on issues such as global and local initiatives on resource efficiency, integrating sustainability in policy/programs, sustainability training for employees, and leading resource management practices/projects.

The meeting included guest presentations from University of Tennesee Center for Industrial Services, US EPA, and US EPA Region 4, as well as SP member companies Covanta, GM, JCI, Lavergne Group, Tetra Tech, and Waste Management. SP's Chair Randy Leslie also led a discussion with participants on strategic issues and opportunities for SP for 2017 and beyond.

Following the meeting SP staff had the opportunity to join Tom Tyler, US EPA and Pam Swingle, US EPA Region 4 in a tour of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, and learn more about the sustainability programs that Toyota has implemented in Huntsville.

SP 2nd Quarter Meeting - May 18, 2016

On May 18, Robert Bosch Corporation hosted SP's 2nd Quarter Membership Meeting at its offices in Farmington Hills, Michigan. David Tarnowski, Director, EHS, Robert Bosch welcomed participants to the meeting and discussed Bosch's environmental sustainability initiatives.

The meeting included discussions focused on advancing energy and water management in manufacturing operations and through the automotive supply chain, improving materials efficiency, and advancing innovation from SP member companies, including Bosch, Ford, General Motors, Johnson Controls, Toyota and Rexroth.

   
Pictured: (left) Kevin Butt, Toyota; (right) Veronika Scott, The Empowerment Plan, John Bradburn, GM

The meeting also included guest presentations from Andy Hoffman, Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at University of Michigan; Veronika Scott, Founder and CEO of The Empowerment Plan; Nena Shaw, Director of Integrated Environmental Strategies Division at US EPA; David Herb, RETAP Manager at Michigan Agency for Energy; and, Walt Tunnessen, National Program Manager at US EPA.

   
Pictured: (left) Walt Tunnessen, US EPA; (right) Sue Rokosz, Ford

At the conclusion of the meeting, Cem Onus, Managing Director of DEKRA Certification, presented Levent Bayraktar, Facility Management, Bosch Rexroth, with a certificate in recognition of Rexroth's Bethlehem, PA facility's certification to the ISO 50001 standard.

Pictured: Cem Onus, DEKRA Certification and Levent Bayraktar, Bosch Rexroth

Please contact us to learn more about participation in SP activities and events.

SP Participates in US Workshop of G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency

SP was honored to participate in the March 22-23 US Workshop of the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency hosted by US EPA, and to have the opportunity to share information on resource efficiency in the automotive supply chain with leaders from the G7 countries.

The Workshop offered a unique forum to share information with other industries, governments and academia on leading efforts within the automotive industry to advance resource efficiency across the supply chain, and generate potential ideas for voluntary collective action. The Workshop included participation from senior environmental policymakers of the G7 countries, including Christine Harada, White House Council on Environmental Quality; Gina McCarthy, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and, Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator, Office of Land and Emergency Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (pictured right), representing the US.

Several SP member companies were featured throughout the workshop including, Sue Rokosz of Ford, John Bradburn of General Motors, Adam Muellerweiss of Johnson Controls, Peter Bartel of Robert Bosch, and Kevin Butt of Toyota. In addition, special thanks goes to SP member companies ChemicoMays, DENSO, ERA Environmental Management Solutions, Johnson Controls and Waste Management that sponsored break sessions in conjunction with the workshop.

 

Pictured: John Bradburn, GM; Adam Muellerweiss, Johnson Controls

On the second day of the workshop, SP’s Executive Director Steve Hellem (pictured right) participated in a panel discussion on critical factors for successful implementation of collaborative projects.  Steve discussed the partnership efforts of SP and shared several examples of collaborative SP projects aligned with the goals of the G7 Alliance, including projects involving Gage Products, GDC Inc., GM, FCA, Ford, FTS Technologies, Heritage Environmental, Mobile Fluid Recovery and Novelis. View Steve's presentation here.

We look forward to continuing the important discussions begun at this US Workshop, and identifying new ways to work together within the G7 community to advance resource efficiency across the supply chain.

For more information on this US Workshop, you may want to visit EPA's event website or read the GreenBiz article on the event.

SP 1st Quarter Meeting - January 13, 2016

On January 13, SP held its 1st Quarter Meeting at GM Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan.

The meeting included presentations focused on improving materials efficiency, advancing innovation, driving systematic energy savings, and emerging sustainability trends from SP members General Motors, FCA and Henkel, as well as special guests Elizabeth Resek, Chief, Municipal Source Reduction Branch, Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division, US EPA, and Paul Scheihing, Technology Manager, US DOE.

The meeting also included a roundtable discussion regarding leading practices, opportunities and challenges related to Sustainable Materials Management in the Auto Supply Chain.

   
Pictured: (L) Al Johnston, FCA; (R) Kevin Woock, Henkel

SP's 2nd Quarter Meeting will be hosted on May 18, 2016 by Robert Bosch LLC. Please contact us to learn more about participation in SP activities and events.

SP 4th Quarter Meeting - November 10, 2015

On November 10, SP held its 4th Quarter Meeting at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Stan Meiburg, Acting Deputy Adminstrator, opened the meeting and welcomed the participants to US EPA.

The meeting provided a unique forum for SP members to engage with senior EPA leadership, and share information on SP focus issues. The meeting included remarks from Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response; Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention; Michael Shapiro, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water; Walt Tunnessen; National Program Manager, EnergyStar; Veronica Blette, Chief, WaterSense Branch; and, Steven Goldman, Environmental Defense Fund, along with presentations from SP members DEKRA, FCA, Ford, GM, Universal Fibers and Waste Management.

During the meeting, SP recognized Tom Murray of US EPA for his 44 years of service to EPA and the special role he played in the creation of SP. 

   
Pictured: (L) Stan Meiburg, US EPA; (R) Randy Leslie, JCI, SP Chair; Tom Murray US EPA; Jim Jones, US EPA

SP's 1st Quarter Meeting will be held on January 13, 2016 at GM Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. Please contact us to learn more about participation in SP activities and events.

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