Volvo Penta Marine Products in Lexington Recognized for Environmental Successes

LEXINGTON, Tenn. - Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke will participate in an environmental recognition ceremony at the Volvo Penta Marine Products facility in Lexington, Tenn. on Tuesday, March 24, at 1 p.m. The facility, located at 200 Robert Wallace Drive, will be honored for achieving Performer Level status in the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership environmental leadership program.

Commissioner Fyke will present a framed certificate of recognition and a green Performer flag to Volvo Penta’s Environmental and Safety Coordinator, Dana Scates and its Director of Operations, Mac Rose, recognizing the facility’s achievements in preventing pollution. The Volvo Penta Marine Products plant is the 14th TP3 member to achieve the distinguished level of Performer, joining eight industrial facilities, three schools and two government agencies. 

In addition to Randy Phelps, Global Vice President of Manufacturing for Volvo Penta, members of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce and other community and industrial groups will be in attendance. 

“This is a great achievement for both Volvo Penta Marine and its employees at the Lexington facility,” said Fyke. “It demonstrates the facility’s commitment to seek out opportunities to eliminate and reduce waste, save natural resources and prevent pollution. We appreciate the leadership Volvo Penta Marine and all our TP3 performers provide to help protect our natural resources.”

To achieve Performer status, TP3 program participants are required to develop and complete a five-project plan to help prevent pollution of air, land and water, while reducing waste and conserving natural resources. Performers also implement community outreach and mentoring into their programs.

“Environmental care in all operations is an internal part of Volvo Penta's commitment to customers and end users, employees and the community,” said Rose. “We are honored to received this recognition and applaud our associates’ efforts to conserve and preserve our community’s resources.”

Volvo Penta documented five environmental success stories to achieve Performer status, demonstrating measurable results in pollution prevention. Notable results include lowering hazardous air pollutants by 9.5 tons, a hazardous waste reduction of 10,000 pounds, the prevention of 250 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and the reduction of water usage by nearly a quarter million gallons per year. Additionally, the facility reclaimed more than 660,000 kilograms of material including used oil, wood, cardboard and scrap metal for further use rather than simply discarding in a landfill.

For more information about Volvo Penta Marine Products’ pollution prevention projects, please visit: http://www.tn.gov/environment/ea/tp3/tp3_volvo.shtml.

The Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership is a statewide network of households, schools, government agencies, organizations, businesses and industries working together to prevent pollution. The Tennessee Pollution Prevention Roundtable, with assistance from the Department of Environment and Conservation, developed many of the guidelines for TP3. For more information on the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership, please visit www.tn.gov/environment/ea/tp3.