Sustainability: A Top to Bottom Approach by Momentive
November 08, 2012 - United States Of America
Momentive Performance Materials Inc and Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc announced the joint publication of Sustainability: A Top to Bottom Approach, which details progress regarding a number of ongoing sustainability initiatives.
“Momentive is dedicated to maintaining safe and sustainable workplaces, conserving resources and protecting the environment for ourselves, our customers and our global communities,” said Craig O. Morrison, Chairman, President and CEO. “We continue to leverage our global commitment to sustainable business practices in our efforts to develop ground-breaking, high-performance, ‘green’ technologies that enable our customers to efficiently manufacture environmentally favorable end products.”
While all of the MPM and MSC sustainability programs are generally focused on environmental protection, economic development and social responsibility initiatives, Sustainability: A Top to Bottom Approach also provides detailed examples of site-specific programs that are making a difference in the communities where MPM and MSC operate. These include:
The Chennai, India, specialty silicones site, which was planned as a zero-discharge complex. This means that no waste water ever leaves the state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2009. For example, waste water generated from the production processing area and laboratories is treated by an in-house effluent treatment plant. Liquid waste then passes through two stages of reverse osmosis, plus ultra-filtration, before the fully-treated water is eventually used for cooler tower and process washings. Solids separated from the processing waste are sent to an offsite waste management facility.
The Morganton, North Carolina resin plant, which reengineered its manufacturing process to include a new cooling tower utilizing a closed system approach. The new cooling tower was ‘recycled’ as it was shipped from the Missoula, Montana, site to be used in Morganton.
TEAM Momentive initiatives where associates volunteer to support community projects where Momentive does business. For example, associates at the Lakeland, Florida site maintain an ongoing partnership with VISTE, an organization dedicated to enabling senior citizens to live at home independently, providing a variety of services that assist in their daily functions. Support for VISTE includes scheduled service days, where site employees pack boxes for the elderly and assist in distribution efforts. In addition, MPM associates in the Albany, New York, area recently participated in the 21st annual Tour de Cure, a cycling event that attracted more than 2,000 participants and raised more than $1 million towards diabetes research and education for the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The MPM team raised more than $8,000 for the ADA in 2012 and has supported the event for several years.