Saturn Tenn. Plant Recieves National Pollution Prevention Roundtable MVP2 Award
FOR RELEASE: September 18, 2002Saturn Awarded Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award
SPRING HILL, TENN.- The Saturn Spring Hill facility that currently produces VUE compact sport utility vehicles was awarded the MVP2 (Most Valuable Pollution Prevention) award from the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable for its efforts to improve water quality, conserve energy, reduce waste, improve air quality and address hazardous wastes.
To achieve this honor, the manufacturing complex was judged on its environmental management system, environmental regulatory compliance, community outreach, and mentoring in pollution prevention.
"We are very proud of GM's strong commitment to the environment, and this award is a great example of our continued efforts," said Elizabeth Lowery, GM vice president, energy and environment. "In addition, Saturn's efforts have resulted in waste reduction, which translates to cost savings. This is a definite benefit to the bottom line - one that directly impacts our ability to be competitive in the marketplace."
Water Quality
The facility now saves 21 million gallons of water per year by eliminating the use of city water during the multi-stage paint preparation, and by eliminating one of the wastewater flow streams going to the on-site wastewater pre-treatment plant.
Energy Conservation
Saturn incorporated a sophisticated electrical and natural gas monitoring system in more than 75 locations throughout the plant to aid energy conservation. In 2001, Saturn saved 29 million-kilowatt hours of electricity and 70,400 MCF of natural gas.
"Energy conservation has been an objective we have truly taken to heart," said Mike Herron, UAW local 1853 Manufacturing Action Council Advisor. "We are grateful that our hard work and diligent efforts are being recognized on a national level."
Waste Reduction
When Saturn's polymer plastic exterior body panels are not up to specification they are recycled to create GM wheel covers and caps, as well as non-automotive plastic goods. Re-use of the plastic eliminated nearly 300,000 pounds of scrap plastic and reduced the need to manufacture new plastic as raw material.
Air Quality
The facility worked with paint suppliers to adopt new water-borne paints and coatings with fewer hazardous air pollutants and toxic chemical ingredients, and upgraded its base coat application equipment with improved robots and electrostatic technology. The new technology improves the transfer efficiency to reduce base coat paint usage and has increased the number of surfaces reachable to reduce paint over-spray.
"Saturn more than doubled the amount of basecoat paint ending up on car parts by implementing this electrostatic painting technology, "said Shari Meghreblian, Saturn Environmental Affairs Manager.
The new technology eliminated 146 tons-per-year of air emissions, 455 tons-per-year of hazardous materials and 167 tons-per-year of solid waste for the facility.
Hazardous Materials
Saturn has embraced information technology to continually improve the effectiveness of its training and communication systems. To date, over 6,000 hazardous materials have been evaluated and incorporated into site information systems, with about 1, 500 active hazardous materials.
"When our entire organization gets behind an initiative, there's no stopping us," concluded Dennis Dougherty, Saturn vice president of manufacturing. "From the very beginning, we have had an absolute commitment to protecting the environment and working together with our community partners to preserve the natural beauty and resources that Middle Tennessee is known for."
Saturn also was recently granted "Performer" status by The Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership (TP3) which is the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's (TDEC) statewide network of schools, environmental organizations, government agencies, and industry promoting environmental excellence through pollution prevention. Saturn's Spring Hill Manufacturing Complex is the first Tennessee industry to receive this honor.
Details of the Saturn Spring Hill facility's pollution-prevention achievements are available to the public at www.state.tn.us/environment/dca/tp3Saturn.htm.
The MVP2 Awards recognize innovative industrial, regulatory and non-regulatory pollution prevention (P2) projects and initiatives. They are presented by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable in Washington, D.C., a non-profit organization and the largest membership organization in the United States devoted solely to pollution prevention (P2).
General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide, and has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. GM employs about 355,000 people around the world. For more information about the environmental progress of GM facilities across the country, visit www.gmability.com.