MDEQ Recognizes 2020 and 2021 enHance Members
(JACKSON, Miss.) — The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) accepted one new member and six renewal memberships into its enHance program for the 2021 class on Wednesday. The recognition was part of the annual workshop and awards luncheon held in Jackson. The class of 2020 was also recognized due to the cancelation of the annual meeting last year. Three new members and eleven renewing members were part of that group.
enHance is a voluntary stewardship program that recognizes committed environmental leaders who accomplish goals beyond their legal requirements.
Participating organizations make a commitment to address and achieve ongoing environmental improvements.
enHance is open to facilities, cities, counties, and other entities who are interested in the program, and applicants can choose from three tiers: Leader, Steward, or Associate.
“It is an honor to recognize these members that actively strive to reduce their wastes, reduce their environmental impacts, and improve the quality of life in their communities. Their vision and leadership is to be commended as their efforts result in both immediate and long-term benefits for our state,” said Chris Wells, MDEQ Executive Director.
New Member for 2021
Mississippi State University – Associate
Renewing Members for 2021
Baxter Healthcare Corporation (Cleveland) – Leader
Hunter Douglas, Inc. (Shannon) – Leader
Nouryon Pulp and Performance Chemicals, LLC (Columbus) – Leader
Nucor Steel Jackson, Inc. and General Recycling of Mississippi, LLC (Flowood) – Leader
Super Sagless, Leggett & Platt, Inc. (Tupelo) – Leader
Columbus Air Force Base – Leader
New Members for 2020
Green Metals, Inc. (Blue Springs) – Associate
Rankin County School District – Associate
Toyota-Boshoku (Mantachie) – Associate
Renewing Members for 2020
Advanced Distributors Products, LLC (Grenada) – Leader
Cooper Tire Company (Tupelo) – Leader
Nissan North America, Inc. (Canton) – Leader
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi, Inc. (Blue Springs) – Leader
Cooper Tire Company (Clarksdale) – Steward
Eaton Corporation (Jackson) – Steward
Northrup Grumman Mission Systems (Ocean Springs) – Steward
Omega Motion, Leggett & Platt, Inc. (Saltillo) – Steward
City of Ridgeland – Steward
Tupelo Sleeper, Leggett & Platt (Tupelo) – Steward
U.S. Navy Naval Battalion Construction Center (Gulfport) – Steward
Georgia Pacific Wood Products, LLC (Taylorsville) – Associate
Details on the members and their efforts follow this release.
Members include private companies, federal government facilities, and local governments. Membership is voluntary, and applications for membership can be found at www.enhance.ms.
# # #
2021 enHance Member Summaries
LEADERS
Baxter Healthcare Corporation (Cleveland)
Baxter is a manufacturer of medical devices and has been an enHance member since 2009. Projects include replacing outdated lighting fixtures with LED lights throughout their facility, optimizing the steam pressure of the facility boilers to efficiently meet demand, and partnering with the West Bolivar School District to provide desktops and laptops.
Hunter Douglas, Inc. (Shannon)
Hunter Douglas is a window blind component manufacturer with over 100 employees and has been an enHance member since 2009. Projects include streamlining the management of environmental data at the facility through the implementation of an environmental software solution, replacing 350 outdated lighting fixtures with LED, and recognizing Earth Day by mobilizing company employees to clean up the local community and industrial parks.
Nouryon Pulp and Performance Chemicals, LLC (Columbus)
Nouryon is a manufacturer of inorganic chemicals. They employ just under 100 employees and have been an enHance member since 2009. Their projects include installing a new groundwater filtration system drastically cutting down backwashing requirements, converting their boiler fuel from primarily natural gas to primarily hydrogen, and partnering with the University of Alabama in their Professional Practice Internship Program.
Nucor Steel Jackson, Inc. and General Recycling of Mississippi, LLC (Flowood)
Nucor Steel Jackson recycles scrap metal and manufactures raw steel components. They have been an enHance member since 2009 and employ just under 300 people. Projects include reducing the overall Energy Intensity of the facility (defined as their cumulative use of electricity, natural gas, carbon, and oxygen), reducing the raw material usage of lime in the smelting process, and continuing as an enHance Program Mentor.
Super Sagless, Leggett & Platt Inc. (Tupelo)
Super Sagless’s business involves stamping, welding, and fabrication. They have been an enHance member since 2012, and employ over 200 people. Projects include automating HVAC systems to operate more efficiently, replacing outdated lighting with LEDs thereby reducing the number of lights needed, and teaching young students the importance of recycling and sustainability.
Columbus Air Force Base (Columbus)
Columbus Air Force Base (CAFB) works to support the training of air force pilots. They have been an enHance member since 2011, and employ just under 2,700 people. CAFB’s project involves designing and building rain gardens which will supplement the management of stormwater runoff reducing pollutants from entering waters of the state and the damage that has occurred to facilities on the base due to erosion. Additionally, CAFB will conduct Household Hazardous Waste drop-off days and conduct education and outreach events with the local community.
ASSOCIATE
Mississippi State University
MSU is a new member in the enHance program with approximately 5,000 employees. Their project includes mechanical renovation of an existing building including upgrading the HVAC system and installing a “computerized building automation system.” These improvements will result in emission reductions as well as cost savings to the institution.
2020 enHance Member Summaries
LEADERS
Advanced Distributor Products, LLC (Grenada)
ADP has been an enHance member since 2017, employs over a thousand people, and is a manufacturer of residential heating and air-conditioning units. Their projects include adopting a zero-waste goal, reducing the amount of water used during testing, replacing outdated lighting with LED’s, and investing in the local community through these and other efforts. The benefits realized from these projects include diverting over a 1,000 tons a year of waste from being landfilled, reducing water usage by 1.75 million gallons a year, and reducing energy consumption.
Cooper Tire Company (Tupelo)
Cooper Tire in Tupelo manufactures passenger tires for the automobile industry and have been members of enHance since 2011. Their projects included working towards reducing energy use by 15 percent through insulating activities, upgrading a chiller and heat exchanger unit, and installing LED lights; reducing waste sent to the landfill by 25% through multiple waste minimization efforts; and, sponsoring a local waste tire collection event.
Nissan North America, Inc. (Canton)
They have been an enHance member since 2011 and employ 8,300 people. Projects include using shipping dunnage as a beneficial use material thereby diverting around 2,700 tons of waste from the landfill per year, installing PLC controls to multiple air handling units reducing energy consumption by over 1.1 million kWh per year, and, working with Rankin County schools to achieve Energy Star Certification.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, Inc. (Blue Springs)
They have been an enHance member since 2014, and employ approximately 2,000 people. Projects include reworking the cooling tower and chiller/air compressor system to reduce waste and energy usage by 20 percent and 12 percent respectively, upgrading the reverse osmosis system to increase efficiency by 10 percent and saving up to 1.5 million gallons per year, and working with local officials to maintain and upgrade Tombigbee State Park.
STEWARDS
Cooper Tire Company (Clarksdale)
Cooper Tire Company in Clarksdale manufactures curing bladders and custom rubber stock through rubber mixing, milling, injection molding, forming, and curing. Cooper has been an enHance member since 2014. Their projects included working towards a goal of reducing their waste to landfill by 35 percent and implementing an energy management program.
Eaton Corporation (Jackson)
Eaton has been an enHance member since 2017, and manufactures hydraulic components for the aerospace industry. Their projects include rolling out a multiple phase update of their lighting fixtures and replacing them with LEDs and developing an air leak plan to identify, resolve, and prevent air leaks thereby reducing energy consumption by 150,000 kWh per year.
Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (Ocean Springs)
NGMS manufactures integrated shipboard electronic system solutions for the U.S. Navy and other customers. They have been an enHance member since 2010, and employ approximately 40 people. Their projects include maintaining a successful recycling program on site thereby reducing the amount of waste sent to the landfill, installing new aerating faucets to reduce water and energy usage, as well as participating in local events aimed at cleaning up litter from public spaces.
Omega Motion, Leggett & Platt Inc. (Saltillo)
Omega Motion, a manufacturer of metal furniture components, has been a member of enHance since 2017, and employs 230 people. Projects include installing new LED lighting to reduce the amount of energy used, changing their glove type to reduce the amount of gloves going to the landfill by 13,200 gloves on a weekly basis, and partnering with a local classroom to teach about the importance of recycling.
City of Ridgeland
The City of Ridgeland provides services to more than 25,000 residents including water, wastewater, solid waste, recycling, law enforcement, fire protection, and recreational opportunities. The city has been an enHance member since 2011, and provides these services through approximately 230 employees. Their projects include reusing and recycling asphalt millings resulting from road repairs which diverts 11,600 tons per year from the landfill and offering recycling services to residents through curbside collection and drop-off containers which results in over 1,000 tons per year of recycled material.
Tupelo Sleeper, Leggett & Platt Inc. (Tupelo)
Tupelo Sleeper has been a member of enHance since 2013, and is a dedicated manufacturer of mattresses and other units. Their projects include reducing waste sent to the landfill by more than 300 tons which will be accomplished by recycling 14,000 pounds of cardboard as well as 16,800 pallets per month. These reductions will result in saved landfill space, reduced emissions, and result in cost savings for the company.
Naval Construction Battalion Center (Gulfport)
NCBC in Gulfport operates as a resource and support facility for various units in the U.S. Navy. They have been an enHance member since 2010, and employ almost 3,300 people. Projects included the installation of a site-based, electrical MicroGrid which will increase the resiliency of the facility significantly, chemically stabilize and cover dioxin contaminated soils, and host semi-annual Restoration Advisory Board meetings.
ASSOCIATES
Georgia Pacific Wood Products, LLC (Taylorsville)
Georgia Pacific is a manufacturer of softwood veneers, plywood, and lumber. They employ over 400 people and have been enHance members since 2017. Their project consisted of installing a natural gas combined heat and power unit to replace an aging boiler unit. The benefits from this project included a 44 percent reduction of material sent to the landfill, a $49,000 per month savings from reduced biomass required, and a reduction in electricity cost by $0.04 per kWh.
Green Metals, Inc. (Blue Springs)
Green Metals has partnered with Toyota Motor Manufacturing as a dedicated recycling outlet. They joined enHance in 2020, and employ 10 people. Their inaugural project includes reducing the amount of waste generated by their employees by providing them with alternative products.
Rankin County School District
RCSD joined enHance as an Associate in 2020, and they have committed to pursuing Energy Star Certification for as many of their 28 schools as possible. As they work towards this goal they will be reducing their total energy consumption and thereby reduce their carbon footprint and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
Toyota-Boshoku Mississippi (Mantachie)
Toyota-Boshoku manufactures automotive seats and armrests and employs approximately 500 people. Their project is to reduce the amount of waste headed to the landfill by 200 tons per year. This will be done by sending the urethane scrap to be recycled into a productive material in the housing industry.
