GEMI Announces Board of Directors for 2012

GEMI recently announced its new Board of Directors in a press release where Keith Miller, GEMI's outgoing Chair and the new Chair Emeritus of the GEMI Board of Directors, who is the Corporate Sustainability Manager, 3M, stated, "It is my pleasure to announce that GEMI has elected as its Chair for 2012 Bill Gill, Assistant Vice President Environmental Affairs, Smithfield Foods, Inc. Bill's leadership and counsel will be a tremendous asset to GEMI in 2012."

The GEMI Board of Directors for 2012 includes:

• Chair: Bill Gill, Assistant Vice President Environmental Affairs, Smithfield Foods, Inc.
• Vice Chair: Neville Dias, Director, Reporting and Analysis, Carnival Corporation & plc
• Finance: Bill Lechner, Vice President, EHS & Security, Scotts Miracle-Gro
• Solution Tools Work Group Chair: Steve Shedroff, Global HSE Data Systems Manager, Procter & Gamble
• Membership: Lori Williams, Business Strategy Advisor, FedEx Corporation
• Communications: Heather Tansey, Sustainability Manager, 3M
• Benchmark: Lindell Sneed, Manager, Environmental Programs, Abbott
• Senior Advisory Council (SAC): Steve Schwalb, Vice President, Environmental Sustainability, Perdue Incorporated
• Chair Emeritus: Keith Miller, Corporate Sustainability Manager, 3M

Pictured: (left to right) Steve Schwalb, Perdue; Steve Shedroff, P&G; Lori Williams, FedEx; Bill Lechner, Scotts Miracle-Gro; Keith Miller, 3M; Bill Gill, Smithfield; Lindell Sneed, Abbott; Heather Tansey, 3M; Neville Dias, Carnival

The 2011 and 2012 GEMI Board of Directors held a strategic planning meeting in January to develop strategies for 2012. Key activities discussed included GEMI member meetings on February 21-23, May 15-17 and November 13-15, and the annual SAC meeting in June. The discussions also included: key activities surrounding launching the new GEMI Local Water Tool™ (LWT) and GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas in early March 2012; key supply chain activities; creating a Communications Professionals Network and membership development in addition to GEMI’s current Networks on Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Water; continuing to conduct regular benchmark surveys and “quick” surveys to support member needs and inquiries; and, seeking new and continuing to strengthen current collaborations with other organizations.

   

Pictured:GEMI 2012 Chair Bill Gill, Smithfield recognizes and thanks GEMI 2011 GEMI Chair Keith Miller, 3M (left) and 2011 Solutions Tools Work Group Chair Mark Hause, DuPont (right)

In addition, GEMI recognized and thanked Keith Miller for his leadership and dedication to the organization and for his service as the 2011 Chair of GEMI and Mark Hause, DuPont for his leadership as the 2011 Solutions Tools Work Group Chair.

Pictured: Participants at January 2012 GEMI LWT Workshop

On January 11-12, 2012 GEMI members met to review the final draft of the GEMI Local Water Tool™ (LWT) and GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas. GEMI member, Scotts Miracle-Gro, hosted the meeting. GEMI will be launching the new tools in March 2012 and more information about the launch will be made available in the February issue of GEMI News.

• Meeting #1: February 21-23, 2012 in Tampa, FL
• Meeting #2: May 15-17, 2012 in Omaha, NE co-hosted by ConAgra Foods and Union Pacific Railroad
• Meeting #3: November 13-15, 2012 in Houston, TX hosted by Halliburton
• The GEMI Annual SAC meeting date and location will be announced soon

DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions and Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited are collaborating to advance technology for higher efficiency solar cells, new module manufacturing processes and innovative component designs. Through technical collaboration, the two companies plan to speed development and adoption of solar energy to address one of the world’s biggest challenges – sustainable energy generation. More Information.

DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS) recently announced the release of Miracle on the Hudson: Prepare for Safety, a new training program on DVD featuring Airline Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, whose emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River near New York on Jan. 15, 2009, offers powerful safety messages for employees in all industries. More Information.

Johnson Controls and the U.S. Army announced a federal contract for a solar energy installation and other energy efficiency improvements at Fort Bliss. The nearly $16 million project, executed through the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center in Huntsville, Ala., is expected to save the post $39 million in energy costs over the next 24 years. More Information.

Perdue AgriBusiness, through its Perdue Grain & Oilseed subsidiary, has joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in promoting the growth and use of sustainable palm oil. The RSPO is a not-for-profit international organization that unites stakeholders to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil. More Information.

The Procter & Gamble Company announced that it will launch a new Facebook campaign to let consumers engage and support its Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program. For the past seven years, P&G has been sharing clean drinking water in developing countries around the world through its P&G Purifier of Water packets that contain a patented powdered technology. To date, over 4 billion liters of water have been purified and an estimated 22,000 lives have been saved. More Information.

Procter & Gamble announced that the new Employee Resource Center opening at its Family Care Box Elder Plant has received LEED Silver certification. P&G announced plans on February 25, 2011 to pursue LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for all new sites. While most of the new Box Elder plant was already up and running, last spring the site began constructing a new employee services building, including work to pursue LEED certification. More Information.

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Scotts Miracle-Gro are announcing a new partnership to advance NWF's nationwide Be Out There initiative to connect children with nature. As the national presenting sponsor, ScottsMiracle-Gro will enhance NWF's programs to create green spaces and attract wildlife to backyards and communities across the country. More Information.

Scotts Miracle-Gro is helping improve more communities with the availability of its GRO1000 Grassroots Grant awards. As part of the GRO1000 program, a commitment to build 1,000 community gardens and green spaces by 2018, Grassroots Grants will be awarded to organizations across the U.S. to help create greenscapes in local neighborhoods and communities. More Information.

Gulf Power along with its other Southern Company subsidiaries was named “Power Company of the Year” at the Platt’s 2011 Global Energy Awards in December. The recognition honors Southern Company as the leading power company in the world for 2011. Specific judging criteria included customer care and satisfaction, effective risk management, financial results, innovation, operational excellence, safety, security, and strategic vision. More Information.

Union Pacific Railroad employees capped a decade of safety improvement in 2011 by achieving a 1.15 reportable injury rate, the best performance on record in the company's history. Employees surpassed their previous best of rate 1.37, established in 2010, by 16.5 percent. From 2002-2011, Union Pacific employees improved their reportable injury rate by 52 percent. More Information.

Newmont Mining Corporation recently named Union Pacific Railroad its North American Supplier of the Year, recognizing the railroad for its innovative, safe and reliable transportation solutions. More Information.

If you have news and notes you would like to share with the GEMI members, please email them to Kellen Mahoney.

• The call for entries for the 2012 DuPont Packaging Awards is now underway. The DuPont Packaging Awards is the industry’s longest running, independently judged global packaging awards program honoring packaging materials, processes, technology and service innovations. The judging will be based on the following set of criteria: Excellence in Innovation; Excellence in Sustainability; Excellence in Waste/Cost Reduction. All entries must be submitted no later than February 24, 2012. More Information.

• GEMI members Union Pacific, Biogen Idec and CSX, were listed on Bloomberg Businessweek's “2012 Ranking of Top-Performing Companies”. The Bloomberg Businessweek 50 evaluates companies on their 1-year and 5-year risk-adjusted returns, consensus analyst recommendations, and projected earnings growth. Companies are ranked against other members of the S&P 500-stock index on each of the four factors, for a total potential score of 2,000. Some trends stand out: Among consumer companies, discounters have prospered. More Information.

• The Stockholm International Water Award recognizes the business sector's contribution to sustainable water management, by minimizing water consumption and environmental impact. It is given to any sector of business and industry. It recognises improved performance in production processes, new products, and management, as well as innovative approaches in water and wastewater process technologies which together help to improve the world water situation. To nominate, visit www.siwi.org/siwa/nominate. Deadline for nominations is February 15, 2012.