CONSERVE WATER GEORGIA
CONSERVE GEORGIA
WATER CONSERVATION AWARDS
Governor Sonny Perdue has announced the winners of the 2009 Conserve Georgia's Natural Leaders Awards. The Conserve Georgia Awards recognize those helping to create a culture of conservation through energy, land, wildlife and water conservation; the improvement of air quality; the prevention of litter; and the promotion of recycling.
"Award-winners have incorporated conservation into their lives and business practices and in doing so have become leaders," said Governor Perdue.
NORAMCO, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and manufacturer of health care products, headquartered in Athens received a Conserve Georgia Water Conservation Award.
In 2008, NORAMCO used 17,175,874 less gallons of water than it used in 2006, a 30% reduction in consumption. This while its production of bulk pharmaceutical products and medical devices increased by 10%.
NORAMCO achieved this impressive reduction by monitoring water usage weekly and by establishing a Water Conservation Team that actively identified water-saving opportunities throughout the plant. NORAMCO reclaims water from its operations and uses the water in cooling towers and steam production. NORAMCO keeps its employees updated on their progress by posting water use graphs in highly visible areas of each building, through announcements at quarterly meetings and through displays at its annual Environmental Health and Safety Fair.
Southface Energy Institute, a nonprofit organization located in Atlanta that promotes sustainable homes, workplaces and communities through education, research, advocacy and technical assistance also received a Conserve Georgia Water Conservation Award.
Southface designed and built its Eco Office, completed in 2009 to demonstrate that smaller commercial buildings can achieve significant water savings at a reasonable cost.
Over the past year, the Eco Office has used 84% less water than comparable buildings and has conserved 61,000 gallons of water.
The Eco Office uses water-efficient bathroom fixtures including three alternatives to the conventional toilet used in most commercial buildings. A rooftop cistern captures rainwater, which is used to flush those toilets. An underground cistern captures stormwater from the building site. This water is used to supplement the rooftop cistern and irrigate the native landscaping during times of low rainfall. Daily, the Eco Office monitors and measures the gallons of water consumed and saved, and the amount of water stored in the building’s cisterns. This real-time and historical data allows Southface to make improvements as needed to maintain the Eco Office’s goals for water efficiency.
For more information on NORAMCO, visit www.noramco.com. For more information on Southface Energy Institute, visit www.southface.org.