Waste Management Named a Project of the Year by Environmental Leader

HOUSTON, March 26, 2014 /3BL Media/ – The Waste Management Phoenix Open was named Project of the Year by Environmental Leader in its Product & Project Awards, the magazine announced today. As title sponsor of the Phoenix Open, Waste Management demonstrates its commitment to environmental sustainability at the annual Zero Waste golf tournament.

The Environmental Leader Product & Project Awards is a program recognizing excellence in products and services that provide companies with energy and environmental benefits or in projects implemented by companies that improved environmental or energy management and increased the bottom line. 

With today’s crowded playing field, energy and sustainability professionals have a notoriously difficult time knowing what products to choose to help their companies increase energy, environmental and sustainability performance. The Environmental Leader Product & Project Awards give companies a solid base of products, vetted by experts, from which to choose.

“The caliber of the entries this year was even more impressive than last year, and showed the excitement and innovation taking place in the industry today,” says Paul Nastu, publisher of Environmental Leader. “There was tough competition for those that entered, and the products that were awarded Top Product or Project of the Year are those that the judges say have viable attributes that set them apart from others in the field.”

Scores were determined by a panel of independent judges headed by Matthew Littlefield of LNS Research and also including judges from companies including Anheuser Busch InBev, Arrow Electronics, Autodesk, Citigroup Inc., Con Agra Foods, Environmental & Operational Risk Management, GlaxoSmithKline, ISS Facility Services, Microsoft, Owens Corning, Power Advocate, Puma, Sam’s Club, Sustainability and Risk Management Reputation Limited, Trupoint Advisers, the University of California Berkeley, Williams Creek Consulting, and YES Bank.

One judge said of the Waste Management Phoenix Open Zero Waste Event, “This project demonstrates what can be achieved when you intentionally apply design to achieve your sustainability goals.  They engaged all stakeholders and applied a life-cycle approach to prepare and execute the event.”

In 2012, Waste Management launched the “Zero Waste Challenge,” an initiative aimed at controlling materials brought into the event.  In 2014, Waste Management continued the “Zero Waste Challenge” for a third year as part of its company-wide effort to reach its goal to triple the amount of recyclable materials nationwide by the year 2020 and extract the most value possible from all of the materials the company manages.

The Zero Waste Challenge ensures that all of the waste generated is recycled, composted, or used in waste-to-energy facilities with vendors only using products and materials that can be composted or recycled at their end-of-life. The company follows ISO20121 standards for sustainable event management and report using the Global Reporting Initiative framework.

“We have made the Waste Management Phoenix Open zero waste because it’s an achievement of our environmental sustainability goals and it sets a great example of what’s possible to sporting venues everywhere,” said Dave Aardsma, chief sales and marketing officer for Waste Management.  “It’s gratifying to be recognized by Environmental Leader and its company of judges.”

Aardsma said that since 2010, the Waste Management Phoenix Open has purchased 100 percent renewable energy from the local utility meaning that even the electric golf carts run on alternative energy. The water used by caterers for cooking and cleaning is used again in the portable toilets. The company makes sure that vendors who create signage for the event make them from sustainable materials that can be recycled, composted, or reused year after year.

Waste Management has been a partner of the Phoenix Open for more than 13 years, providing waste, recycling, and portable restroom services.  As the title sponsor, Waste Management, in partnership with the PGA TOUR and The Thunderbirds, is dedicated to making the Waste Management Phoenix Open the greenest tournament on the PGA TOUR. The tournament has also become a major platform for showcasing Waste Management Think Green solutions, including the Four Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle and recover.

About Environmental Leader

Since 2006, Environmental Leader's website and daily email newsletter have provided the definitive and objective voice in reporting on business-related energy, environmental, and sustainability issues, while Energy Manager Today is the leading daily trade publication keeping corporate executives informed about energy management news. For more information visit www.environmentalleader.com or www.energymanagertoday.com.

About the Environmental Leader Product & Project Awards

In its second year, the Environmental Leader Product & Project Awards recognize excellence in products and services that provide companies with energy and environmental benefits, or in corporate projects that improved environmental or energy management and increased the bottom line. It is a five-point rating system designed to offer companies feedback and recognition. Third-party judges came from the following companies: Anheuser Busch InBev, Arrow Electronics, Autodesk, Citigroup Inc., Con Agra Foods, Environmental & Operational Risk Management, GlaxoSmithKline, ISS Facility Services, Microsoft, Owens Corning, Power Advocate, Puma, Sam’s Club, Sustainability and Risk Management Reputation Limited, Trupoint Advisers, the University of California Berkeley, Williams Creek Consulting, and YES Bank.

For a complete list of winners, visit http://www.environmentalleader.com/environmental-leader-product-project-awards/

ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT

Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are the largest residential recycler and also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill-gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more visit www.wm.com.

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