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State Environmental Stewardship Initiative holds annual conference

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) held its annual Environmental Stewardship Initiative (ESI) Conference October 9-10 to help businesses, industries, government entities and other organizations learn sustainability and pollution prevention best practices that both protect North Carolina’s environment and produce economic benefits.  

ESI promotes and encourages superior environmental performance by North Carolina organizations. This voluntary program was established in 2002 to support the development and implementation of pollution prevention programs and innovative approaches to exceed regulatory requirements. 

“I want to thank Environmental Stewardship Initiative members for voluntarily going above and beyond compliance to prevent pollution, drive innovation, and achieve superior environmental performance,” DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson said. “The results are phenomenal; over 20 years ESI members have saved more than $118 million, conserved 16 billion gallons of water, and kept 4.4 million tons of waste out of landfills.” 

At the two-day conference, attendees learned about implementing environmental and pollution prevention projects, recovering materials through sustainable management and other environmental management topics from industry leaders and departmental staff.  In addition, a DEQ leadership panel shared updates on regulations and DEQ programs in an open discussion with conference participants. 

The ESI program currently has 106 members at 218 member sites across the state, representing a broad array of industry sectors. The program consists of three levels: Partners, Rising Stewards and Stewards, the highest level of achievement. This year, the program is made up of 31 Stewards, nine Rising Stewards and 66 Partners.

The Secretary presented awards to the Members of the Year and for the top Pollution Prevention Project.  This year’s award winners are:

  • Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., Rising Steward of the Year

  • Pfizer-Sanford, Steward of the Year

  • Sofidel America, Pollution Prevention Project of the Year

An additional six new ESI members were welcomed to the program with their partner certificates, one new Rising Steward was recognized for its promotion within the program, and 21 members were recognized for achieving 5, 10, 15 and 20 years at their respective levels.

From 2004 to 2023, ESI members reduced their water usage by over 16.2 billion gallons; reduced energy usage by approximately 89.7 million BTUs; avoided the generation of 8.8 billion gallons of wastewater; reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 1.1 million metric tons; reduced the waste sent to landfill by 4.4 million tons and avoided the generation of almost 7,000 tons of hazardous waste. The total financial savings at ESI member facilities based on these environmental reductions were reported at more than $118.3 million. 

For more information, visit the Environmental Stewardship Initiative’s website, www.ncesi.org, or contact Renee Kramer, Environmental Stewardship Initiative Program Manager, at 919-707-8146 or esi@nc.deq.gov 

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