DePuy Receives Governor's AwardWarsaw-based DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. received the 2009 Indiana Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence during the annual Pollution Prevention Conference and Trade Show Wednesday at Primo's West in Plainfield.
Indiana Department of Environmental Management Assistant Commissioner Rick Bossingham presented the Five-Year Continuous Improvement award to Mitch Garrison, plant manager for operations, and Steve Schroedl, environmental engineer, DePuy.Bossingham congratulated the company on receiving the award.
"When voluntary business actions result in improved operational practices, there will be a winning outcome every time. DePuy is to be commended for their innovation and their achievements for engaging in environmentally friendly business operations," he said.
DePuy created and implemented an environmental management system at all of its manufacturing facilities and achieved ISO 14001 registration for its Warsaw facility.
Through its environmental management system, DePuy outlined its commitment to performance objectives, resource allocation and continuous improvement. Facility representatives annually review the environmental management system to identify significant environmental aspects and set new goals to better control and reduce environmental impacts.
All environmental information is tracked and reported annually for inclusion in the Johnson & Johnson company's Sustainability Report.
In five years, DePuy had accomplished their goals and made the following improvements:
- reduction in hazardous waste generation by 9 percent;
- reduction in carbon dioxide generation by 0.7 percent;
- reduction in water usage by 19 percent, exceeding the original 10 percent goal; and,
- reduction in non-hazardous landfill waste by 48 percent, exceeding the original goal of 10 percent.
An annual award program that began in 1994, the Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence recognize Indiana's leaders who have identified and implemented innovative environmental practices into their programs and facilities.
The awards program is open to all Indiana facilities, state and local units of government, individuals and technical assistance organizations that implement exemplary environmental projects with measurable results.
A review committee consisting of representatives from industry, environmental organizations, education, and government evaluate each Governor's Awards application, considering how each project reflects and advances environmental excellence, economic prosperity and leadership commitment to these improvements.
