Going Green: MIS rolls out green initiatives

With much of its 1,400 acres featuring a variety of forests, protected wetlands and scenic wildlife reminiscent of the Irish Hills, Michigan International Speedway is no stranger to conservation efforts.

But MIS wants to take those efforts further by announcing various green initiatives over the next few weeks, which will further enhance its commitment to the “Great Escape – National Park” atmosphere that race fans and staff have enjoyed for years. Additionally, these steps will help achieve the track’s goal of reducing its carbon footprint.

“We’re doing more than just turning on and off our lights and recycling cans and paper,” track President Roger Curtis said. “We are extremely passionate about these efforts, so much so that these initiatives are an integral part of our strategic plan. We are pursuing initiatives that are good for MIS, our fans and environment. These efforts not only will lower our costs and create value, but will enhance the brands of MIS and the beautiful State of Michigan. Most importantly, it is simply the right thing to do.”

The first of these new initiatives is the speedway’s voluntary involvement in the Michigan Business Pollution Prevention Partnership (MBP3) and Retired Engineers Technical Assistance Program (RETAP). These self-administered, private programs (with overview from the state) are designed to reduce pollution, lower energy usage and reduce costs.

MIS has been presented with a certificate of accomplishment for the MBP3 partnership, thus making the racetrack the first professional sports venue in the state to join the program. MIS is also one of just 179 businesses in the state to register for the MBP3 partnership.

The purpose of MBP3 is to advance pollution prevention activities in the State of Michigan by encouraging businesses to initiate and expand their current practices by providing public recognition for their individual efforts. The partnership promotes the application of cost effective, innovative techniques that lead to reductions in waste. Source reduction is the key to sustainable business; however, reuse and recycling efforts remain an important aspect to overall success.

“This is a very important step for us in our conservation efforts,” MIS Senior Director of Facility Development Michael Printup said. “To be the first professional sports venue in the state to participate in the MBP3 program is a great honor. We’re pleased to voluntarily join this venture. It’s good for us, our fans and our business as a whole.”

The energy conservation program RETAP Michigan was created to provide RETAP assessed companies with technical assistance to implement pollution prevention programs. The goals for MIS are to reduce the generation of waste produced by the speedway, provide information on resources to facilitate implementation of pollution prevention (P2) recommendations, share technology information with other businesses, while respecting the confidentiality and time commitment required of the participating businesses and to develop case studies to promote P2 technologies to others in the industry.

“The RETAP program will help us reduce the generation of waste and conserve energy while providing a practical learning experience for companies like MIS. The program will be very interactive,” Printup said.

In the next few weeks, MIS will announce other conservation efforts and green initiatives, thus making the track one of the industry’s leaders in these categories. More information on the MBP3 partnership and RETAP program can be found at www.michigan.gov.

Tickets and camping are available for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 3M Performance 400 presented by Bondo on August 17 and NASCAR Nationwide Series CARFAX 250 on August 16 by calling the official MIS Ticket Hotline at 800.354.1010 or by visiting MISpeedway.com. Michigan International Speedway, “It’s Your Speed!”