Norfolk, VA - The Wildlife Habitat Council has certified six of Titan America's sites in the United States, including both of its cement operating facilities: Roanoke Cement Company in Troutville, VA and the Pennsuco Cement Complex in Medley, FL. The cement terminal sites honored included Front Royal, VA, Winston-Salem in North Carolina and Richmond, VA. The Center Sand site in Clermont, FL was also certified. All six sites were honored during the 25th Wildlife Habitat Council Annual Symposium held in Baltimore, MD last week.
"Titan America LLC is being recognized as an industry leader in corporate conservation," stated Margaret O'Gorman, Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) president. "It is a model for how we at the Wildlife Habitat Council connect corporations and communities to create habitat and increase biodiversity on corporate properties for the benefit of all." Through its certification programs of private lands owned by the corporate sector, the WHC has set the standard for conservation programs on privately held land for more than 25 years.
"Our affiliation with the Wildlife Habitat Council has allowed us to make progress on one of Titan America's goals of achieving a more sustainable future by adding biodiversity planning and projects to our operating sites," stated Don Ingerson, Vice President of Ready- Mix, Virginia and a presenter at the Symposium. "By our standards, we are just getting started with the Council. But with the WHC's assistance we are proud to report, 100 percent of the Titan America cement plants and 50 percent of the cement terminals in the mid-Atlantic region are certified."
The WHC's Corporate Wildlife Habitat Certification/International Accreditation Program recognizes commendable wildlife habitat management and environmental education programs at individual sites. Certification criteria are stringent.
Candidates must document that programs have been active for at least one year with a management plan that lists goals, objectives and prescriptions. The Certification Review Committee, a panel of WHC wildlife biologists and staff, reviews the materials for certification eligibility and recognizes deserving projects under designated categories. WHC offers two separate certifications: "Wildlife at Work" and "Corporate Lands for Learning." Both plants were certified under "Corporate Lands for Learning" and the terminals and Center Sand sites through "Wildlife at Work."
Titan America's environmental commitment is part of its core business philosophy. In August, the Commonwealth of Virginia DEQ Director, David Paylor, recognized Titan America's subsidiary, Roanoke Cement Company, as an
Exemplary Environmental Enterprise within the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program. The program was established to encourage superior environmental performance by encouraging facilities and organizations within the Commonwealth with strong, established environmental records, to go above and beyond what is required by regulations, and set even better benchmarks.
The Wildlife Habitat Council is a nonprofit, non-lobbying organization dedicated to increasing the quality and amount of wildlife habitat on corporate, private and public lands. The WHC devotes its resources to building partnerships with corporations and conservation groups to create solutions that balance the demands of economic growth with the requirements of a healthy, bio diverse and sustainable environment. WHC-assisted wildlife habitat and conservation education programs are found in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and 11 other countries. To learn more, visit www.wildlifehc.org.