FINDLAY, Ohio (Nov. 10, 2009)—Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s Texarkana, Ark., factory has received an environmental excellence award from the Arkansas Environmental Federation.
The Findlay-based tire maker is the 2009 recipient of the AEF's Diamond Award for Excellence in Environmental Leadership, which recognizes companies demonstrating initiative or leadership in managing their environmental affairs.
Each fall, an independent panel of judges appointed by the AEF board of directors selects one winner, and the winning company receives a crystal-and-walnut trophy. The company also is invited to the AEF annual trade show at the Hot Springs, Ark., convention center for the award presentation.
This marks the second time Cooper's Texarkana facility has received an award from the AEF. In 1994, that plant was one of four Arkansas facilities to receive overall honors for waste minimization and pollution prevention.
“Earning this award visibly demonstrates the strong commitment Cooper—and in particular, our Texarkana facility—has to maintaining the highest environmental standards,” said John Bodart, Cooper North American Tire Manufacturing vice president. “Our Texarkana plant has long been known for its environmentally friendly initiatives, and it's gratifying to win outside recognition of those efforts.”
Among its many green initiatives, the plant has reduced landfill disposal by 35 percent during the last two years and saved more than $225,000 in disposal costs and marketing of recyclables.
Facility engineers undertook various waste minimization projects, according to Cooper, including the reuse of carbon black dust and recycling of used hydraulic fluid. They also reduced water usage by more than 16 percent during the last two years.
Other initiatives improved scrap generation by 20 percent—and overall plant energy savings in the last two years alone amounted to more than $1.6 million, Cooper said.