SALEM, Va.—Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia L.L.C.'s (YTMV) Salem plant has received the 2015 Environmental Warrior Award from the Virginia Water Environment Association (VWEA).
The facility received the recognition as part of VWEA's 2015 Industrial Waste and Pretreatment Environmental Excellence Awards Program. Tetsuro “Tex” Murakami, YTMV president, was presented the award at a ceremony held in Charlottesville, Va., on March 3.
The Environmental Warrior Award, presented for the first time this year, recognizes a company that has made the greatest improvement in their environmental compliance program, according to the VWEA.
“It is a great honor for YTMV to be the first recipient of the VWEA's new Environmental Warrior Award,” Murakami said.
“Going forward, all of us at the company will not rest on this laurel but will relentlessly endeavor to protect and improve the local environment in our business and other activities.”
Yokohama earned the Environmental Warrior Award due to its achievement in complying with industrial water treatment regulations, the tire maker said, as well as its environmental conservation efforts over the years. This includes lowering its industrial waste emissions by 45 percent from 2012 to 2014, and as of year-end 2014, it had lowered the percent of waste sent to landfills to 2.5 percent. Also in 2014, YTMV was accepted into the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program with an E4 status, the highest status rating awarded by the program. The tire manufacturer said it is targeting a zero-percent landfill ratio in 2015.
YTMV received ISO 14001 certification for environmental management systems in 2007 and has continued to promote environmental protection and conservation in all its activities.
Murakami said YTMV will continue its efforts to improve energy efficiency, water resource management, chemical management and environmental awareness among its employees.
The VWEA is a nonprofit organization established in 1947 to protect the water resources of the State of Virginia. Its members include citizens, environmentalists and state government employees from across the state.
YTMV and Yokohama Tire Corp. are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd.