Nalco Water Hosts SP’s 4th Quarter Meeting of 2019

The 4th Quarter meeting of Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) was hosted last week by Nalco Water, an Ecolab Company in Naperville, Illinois. Special thanks to Ram Nagarajan, Janet Kirkman, Magen Savo and the Nalco Water team for their support in hosting the meeting.

SP membership meetings provide an opportunity for members to share environmental sustainability best practices and strategies with their industry peers, learn about emerging issues impacting the environment and their business operations, and to identify opportunities for collaborative action through SP. 

Pre-Meetings and Activities – October 23

A meeting of SP’s EHS Forum – which is designed to provide an opportunity for deeper discussion on key EHS issues impacting SP members – was held at Nalco on the afternoon of October 23. The theme of this quarter’s EHS Forum was Emerging EHS Issues and Risks, and included presentations from Doug Parker (Earth & Water Strategies) and Katherine Smith (Campbell Institute at National Safety Council). Meeting of SP’s Responsible Battery Work Group and Recycled Content Work Group were also held earlier that day.

Following the EHS Forum meeting, participants had the opportunity to participate in tours of the onsite Nalco Water Customer Experience Center & Water University to learn more about leading practices and innovations in water conservation and treatment.

Later that evening, SP members participated in a Wine to Water Filter Build activity prior to a group dinner. Wine To Water uses a special filter to help families get clean water in hard to reach areas, like refugee camps and natural disasters. At the W|W Filter Build, members helped to assemble these water filters and learned Wine to Water’s work around the world.

Q4 Membership Meeting – October 24

The following morning, SP’s Chair Randy Leslie (Johnson Controls) opened SP’s 4th Quarter Meeting of 2019 and introduced Emilio Tenuta (Ecolab) to welcome SP members to the Nalco Water campus. Emilio shared information on Ecolab’s sustainability goals and provided examples of how Ecolab is working with its customers to manage water risk and enhance sustainability impacts.

The meeting included member-led updates on current SP working group initiatives related to biodiversity, chemical process management, EV battery recycling, materials efficiency, recycled content, and emerging professional engagement. In addition to SP project updates the meeting included presentations from SP members and guests on current and emerging sustainability and business issues, including Chuck Chaitovitz (U.S. Chamber of Commerce), Paul Stauder (Covanta Environmental Solutions), Sara Cook (Wildlife Habitat Council), and Sean O’Day (Titan AES).

During the meeting, Kevin Butt (Toyota Motor North America) was elected as Chair of the SP Executive Committee for 2020. On behalf of all of SP’s members, Kevin presented outgoing Chair Randy Leslie (JCI) with a plaque recognizing and thanking him for his extraordinary vision, leadership and service as a founding member of SP and Chairman of the Executive Committee.

SP members may access presentations and minutes from the meetings on SP’s Members Only site.  Please contact us if you’d like more information, or to learn more about SP membership opportunities.