Month: August 2023

Originally published in Owens Corning’s 2022 Sustainability Report

As Owens Corning has worked to reduce our environmental impact at our plant in Tlaxcala, Mexico, Isabel Fernandez has played an essential role. She has been with Owens Corning for eight years, serving first as an environmental engineer and then as an EHS leader. With a background in chemical engineering, Isabel is deeply committed to issues of sustainability, both at work and in her home life. In addition to ensuring that her facility complies environmental requirements and maintains a sustainable work environment, Isabel works to spread the word about the importance of recycling, the circular economy, and other sustainability topics throughout her community.

”Sustainability needs to be part of our culture at all levels. It has to be part of our education in our schools and at home.“

On the benefits of overseeing a multidisciplinary team

As an EHS leader, I’m responsible for ensuring that we achieve all our environmental goals — in this case, water recirculation and recycling projects. A multidisciplinary team gives us more opportunities to figure out some issues. We need the input from the maintenance team, the focused improvement team, and the production team, because they know the processes. They know what is needed, the opportunities, and the gaps. If we work together, we can develop specific actions and implement improvements to decrease that the environmental footprint in that area. In 2022, our multidisciplinary team developed a water reuse project, using treated water in the spraying system to clean the vents in the chopped strand mat line. We are decreasing the well water consumption between 120 and 150 cubic meters per day. We have had very good results as we have increased performance without deviations and without impacting the quality.

On the value that Owens Corning places on water conservation

I’m very passionate about sustainability issues. I really appreciate all the efforts of our people to reduce our environmental impact. Owens Corning has done very well identifying its environmental impacts. They have defined clear objectives that allow the facilities to manage those impacts, and they have provided us with the resources to address them. This year we had the opportunity to improve our wastewater treatment plant, which will allow us to recycle more water into our processes. This is very important because in many places in the world, water is a limited resource. Water is one of the most important and indispensable resources for people and industries, so we need to develop objectives that focus on water reduction or water recycling. The efficient use of water tells us that this is a good organization with a strong culture.

On the positive impact that manufacturing can have 

When industries or companies put their efforts into identifying the environmental impacts of their processes, and they implement countermeasures and technologies and specific projects, they can change the world. Industries generate a big impact on the environment. We need more awareness, we need more education on this topic, and we need to develop good strategies to achieve at all levels.

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Grants will support organizations and projects designed to attract businesses and enhance the quality of life for Floridians

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., August 8, 2023 /3BL/ – Duke Energy and the Duke Energy Foundation are investing $682,000 in grants to support 35 local economic development agencies and businesses dedicated to bringing new jobs and investment in Florida.

“By investing in the people, places and businesses that strengthen and uplift our communities, we are creating opportunities for years to come,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “Together with our state, regional and local economic development agencies, we will continue to power lives and fuel Florida’s growth.”

The economic development grants are designed to help local organizations increase awareness of a community or region’s economic development strategies and product availability.

This year’s funding will allow the University of Florida (UF Innovate|Accelerate) to identify and vet promising biotechnology businesses seeking to scale, with potential to relocate in the city of Gainesville and city of Alachua area.

“UF Innovate and Duke Energy have a shared commitment to the communities we serve,” said Karl LaPan, director of UF Innovate|Accelerate. “Duke Energy’s support will allow us to provide access to the tools, expertise and resources necessary for high-performance companies to reach their goals, create jobs and build a more thriving entrepreneurial community.”

Another Duke Energy grant will allow the Florida Economic Development Council Foundation to formulate curriculum and program delivery for a year-round professional development program for individuals and organizations.

“Florida’s economy continues to grow and expand,” said Beth Cicchetti, executive director of the Florida Economic Development Council Foundation. “We are grateful for Duke Energy’s continued support in helping the Florida Economic Development Council continue its strong support of business and economic development professionals throughout the state and improve the economic well-being for all Floridians.”

A complete list of grant recipients and program details can be found here.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy Foundation

The Duke Energy Foundation provides more than $30 million annually in philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The foundation is funded by Duke Energy shareholders.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2023 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Audrey Stasko 
Media line: 800.559.3853 
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS

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