BETHESDA, MD, August 17, 2023 – WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council) offers a new white paper available for download today, Nature-based Solutions to Prevent Pollution and Support Biodiversity | Opportunities for the Automotive Industry. This white paper is sponsored by General Motors and is available for free on our website.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are actions that utilize elements of nature to protect and restore ecosystems. In addition to preserving biodiversity of wildlife and plant species, NbS also deliver environmental co-benefits such as climate change resilience and improved air, water and soil quality, as well as community benefits such as recreation, aesthetics and environmental education.

Of particular use to many industries are the pollution prevention capabilities of NbS. Due to company-wide, national and international environmental goals, many automotive manufacturers have been going above and beyond regulatory requirements by incorporating pollution prevention strategies throughout the supply chain and manufacturing process. NbS are another set of tools that auto manufacturers and their suppliers can deploy to prevent pollution.

This white paper explores how the automotive industry can implement nature-based solutions to prevent pollution. Case studies from WHC-certified programs as well as automotive manufacturers around the world illustrate how nature-based solutions reduce pollution and offer co-benefits for biodiversity and communities.

Featured case studies include:

• BMW: Site Operations Center, South Carolina, USA
• Bridgestone: Aiken County Off Road Tire Plant, South Carolina, USA
• Chrysler/Stellantis: Peter’s Pond, Indiana, USA
• DENSO: DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc., Tennessee, USA
• Ford: Ford Rouge Truck Plant, Michigan, USA
• General Motors: World Headquarters, Michigan, USA
• Honda: HondaWoods, Tokyo, Japan
• Subaru: National Headquarters, New Jersey, USA
• Toyota: PEMC, Kentucky, USA
• Volkswagen: Enterprise South Industrial Park, Tennessee, USA
• WM: Southern Services Landfill, Tennessee, USA

This white paper is part of a series of deliverables supported by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with particular focus on EPA region 4, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and six indigenous tribes. Throughout this project, WHC has partnered with the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) to support the automotive sector and its supply chain in biodiversity uplift efforts.

Sponsored by General Motors, this white paper includes a foreword that states, “When nature-based solutions are designed into our overall business practice, we can develop strategies to be more resilient regarding the resources we all rely on to operate in today’s competitive landscape. Together, we as an industry can help to improve biodiversity and local ecosystems in our communities. Nature is everyone’s business.”

About WHC:

For 35 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.

BETHESDA, MD, JUNE 21, 2023 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announced the winners of its 2023 WHC Awards during the WHC Conservation Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 20-21. The WHC Awards honor excellence in corporate conservation, with awardees representing various national and international companies across industries.

The year’s top awards, signifying leadership in conservation, were won by Freeport-McMoRan, WM and Matador Ranch & Cattle.

“We are proud to recognize the excellent achievements of this year’s WHC award winners, including Freeport-McMoRan, WM and Matador Ranch & Cattle,” said Margaret O’Gorman, President, WHC. “All of the award recipients have demonstrated excellence in corporate conservation, and we are honored to work alongside them to support biodiversity, sustainability and conservation education.”

The Employee Engagement Award, given to WM, recognizes the exemplary contributions of one company’s employees towards their habitat and conservation education efforts.

The 2023 Gold Program of the Year Award, which honors the overall depth of one conservation program, was awarded to Matador Ranch & Cattle for its Beaverhead Ranch site in Dillon, Montana.

Freeport-McMoRan received this year’s Corporate Conservation Leadership Award, which recognizes one company’s overall achievement in conservation and commends their corporate commitment to biodiversity, conservation education and alignment with global conservation objectives.

In addition to these corporate and program-level awards, individual projects are recognized for excellence in each of the WHC Project Guidance themes. This award category offers projects of all sizes the ability to compete for recognition.

Freeport-McMoRan was the year’s most honored company, receiving the WHC Corporate Conservation Leadership Award as well as three project awards (Bats, Formal Learning and Species of Concern) recognizing their conservation and education work in Arizona and New Mexico.

The following is a complete list of 2023 WHC Award Winners:

WHC Corporate Conservation Leadership Award
Freeport-McMoRan

WHC Employee Engagement Award
WM

WHC Gold Program of the Year Award
Matador Ranch & Cattle, Beaverhead Ranch | Dillon, Montana

Avian Project Award
BP, Warm Springs Ponds  |  Butte, Montana

Awareness and Community Engagement Project Award
Summit Materials, Hamm Sanitary Landfill  |  Perry, Kansas

Bats Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan, Cyprus Tohono Corporation  |  Casa Grande, Arizona

Desert Project Award
CEMEX, El Carmen Nature Reserve  |  Coahuila, Mexico

Forests Project Award
SIBELCO, Unidade Jaguaruna  |  Santa Catarina, Brazil

Formal Learning Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan, Port Nickel  |  Phoenix, Arizona

Grasslands Project Award
WM, Kirby Canyon Recycling and Disposal Facility  |  San Jose, California

Green Infrastructure Project Award
Davey Resource Group, WSSI Native Habitat  |  Gainesville, Virginia

Invasive Species Project Award
California Resources Company, Bolsa Chica Wetlands Ecosystem Partnership  |  Huntington Beach, California

Invasive Species Coordinated Approaches Project
Matador Ranch & Cattle, Beaverhead Ranch  |  Dillon, Montana

Land Conservation Agreements Project Award
Boeing, Boeing South Carolina – Keystone/Fairlawn Project  |  North Charleston, South Carolina

Landscaped Project Award
DuPont, Experimental Station Laboratories  |  Wilmington, Delaware

Mammals Project Award
MEG Energy Corporation, Christina Lake Regional Project  |  Alberta, Canada

Marine Intertidal Project Award
The Earth Lab, The Earth Lab – Ejido Sisal  |  Distrito Federal, Mexico

Other Habitats Project Award
General Motors, Quito  |  Pichincha, Ecuador

Other Species Project Award
Ontario Power Generation, Ontario Power Generation Wesleyville Site  |  Ontario, Canada

Pollinators Project Award
Constellation, James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant  |  Oswego, New York

Remediation Project Award
Ashland, Research Center, DE  |  Wilmington, Delaware

Reptiles and Amphibians Project Award
BP, Warm Springs Ponds  |  Butte, Montana

Rocky Areas Project Award
Exelon, Goat Hill Serpentine Barrens Restoration  |  Nottingham, Pennsylvania

Species of Concern Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan, Tyrone  |  Tyrone, New Mexico

Training Project Award
ITC Holdings, ITC Transmission Line Right-of-Way at Tomlinson Arboretum  |  Clinton Twp., Michigan

Wetlands and Water Bodies Project Award
Ontario Power Generation, Ontario Power Generation Wesleyville Site  |  Ontario, Canada

Award finalists and winners were chosen from Conservation Certification applications submitted between January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022 that were granted certification. Information on award criteria can be found here.

About WHC

For 35 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.

BETHESDA, MD, May 18, 2023 – WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council) offers a new white paper available for download today, Restoring Ecosystems Through Invasive Species Control | Methods for Preventing, Monitoring and Eradicating Invasive Species on Corporate Lands. The white paper is sponsored by Ontario Power Generation and is available for free on our website.

Invasive species are among the top five threats to biodiversity worldwide. When plant or animal species are introduced into an ecosystem outside of their native habitat, they lack the factors that previously limited them and are able to proliferate in this new environment, leading to a large homogeneous population that outcompetes native species for resources. Considering the wide-ranging impact of non-native flora and fauna on the environment, economy and human health and safety, managing and controlling the spread of invasive species is a key element of conserving habitats and protecting native wildlife.

As privately owned lands make up a vast amount of the earth’s land surface, it is imperative that the corporate sector become an active player in invasive species management efforts. Controlling invasive species on corporate lands can become a vital part of an existing habitat restoration project, and efforts to prevent and eradicate invasive species also provide opportunities for corporations to involve the local community. This white paper details the key methods corporations can use to control invasive species, restore native habitats and educate the surrounding community.

Featured case studies include:

• Bruce Power: Bruce Site, Ontario, Canada
• California Resources Corporation: Bolsa Chica Wetlands Ecosystem Partnership, California, USA
• Constellation: Quad Cities Generation Station, Illinois, USA
• Dupont: Asturias, Spain
• ExxonMobil: Joliet Refinery, Illinois, USA
• Fidelity Investments: Smithfield, Rhode Island, USA
• Freeport-McMoRan: Port Nickel, Louisiana, USA
• General Motors: Guangde Proving Ground, Anhui, China
• ITC: ITC Corporate Headquarters, Michigan, USA
• WM: Crossroads Landfill, Maine, USA

Sponsored by Ontario Power Generation, this white paper includes a foreword from Heather Brown, Vice President, Environmental Health & Safety, who states, “Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is dedicated to safeguarding and improving the biodiversity of its properties. We recognize that managing invasive species is not only crucial to protecting sensitive ecosystems but also to combatting the effects of climate change. OPG aims to responsibly manage these species, replacing them with native species to aid in carbon sequestration and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Managing non-native species on OPG properties also contributes to the Wildlife Habitat Council certifications at many of our sites in Ontario, Canada, and supports an ecosystem approach to conservation and ecosystem restoration.”

About WHC:

For 35 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.

BETHESDA, MD, January 24, 2023 – WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council) offers a new white paper available for download today, Community-First Environmental Action | A Roadmap to Building Meaningful Corporate-Community Relationships. The white paper is sponsored by Ontario Power Generation and is available for free on our website.

All companies have an impact on the communities in which they operate — from positive results like employment opportunities to negative effects such as decreased air quality. Many companies are recognizing the opportunities to invest in community-centered, environmentally conscious initiatives in their own neighborhood.

This white paper discusses how corporations across the world are interfacing with the surrounding community on issues related to sustainability, conservation and education. The featured case studies illustrate how meaningful corporate-community relationships are mutually beneficial, allowing companies to attract and retain talent and providing an opportunity for local communities to meet their environmental health and climate resiliency needs.

Case studies in the white paper include:

• Boeing: Boeing Plant 2, Washington, USA
• Dow: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, USA
• Exelon: Orland Park Prairie, Illinois, USA
• Freeport-McMoRan: Sociedad Contractual Minera El Abra, Antofagasta, Chile
• General Motors: Woodstock Parks Distribution Centre, Ontario, Canada
• Ice Mountain/BlueTriton Brands: Twin Creek Nature Area, Michigan, USA
• Marathon Petroleum: Marathon Gardens, Michigan, USA
• The Earth Lab: Ejido Sisal, Yucatán, Mexico
• WM: Bucks County Landfills, Pennsylvania, USA
• R. Grace: Tyrone Plant, Pennsylvania, USA

About WHC:

For over 30 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.

BETHESDA, MD, November 16, 2022 – WHC (Wildlife Habitat Council), with the support of Shell USA, has released a tool for corporations to better understand and potentially pursue  nature-based solutions to build resilience against the impacts of climate change.

This new resource, Nature-Based Solutions for Corporate Landowners | Interventions to Address Climate Change Challenges is available for download. It includes twenty NBS interventions, from reforestation to green roofs, as well as real-life case studies that show how corporations have successfully implemented each solution. Corporate landowners can use this tool to learn more about specific NBS and select those that best align with their needs.

“By identifying NBS options that are feasible, appropriate, cost-effective and scalable, the private sector can work to build climate-resilient communities while supporting nature,” said Rob Campbell, Director of Technical Services and Certification, WHC.

“Shell is working to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the communities that we serve,” said Michael Jeffers, Social Investment Advisory at Shell. “This tool aligns with Shell’s investments in NBS projects that work with ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, wetlands and coastal zones, or projects that improve agricultural sustainability. These projects absorb more CO₂ or prevent the release of greenhouse gases, while also delivering benefits to local communities and biodiversity of the area.”
Climate-change challenges such as increased flooding, intense heat and cold waves and severe coastal erosion impact both corporate operations and the lives of local community members. NBS can address climate-change challenges while enhancing biodiversity, mitigating rising temperatures, increasing air quality and boosting carbon sequestration. These natural interventions support human health and well-being while providing opportunities for community engagement.

About WHC:

For over 30 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.

About Shell USA, Inc.:

Shell USA, Inc is an affiliate of Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with operations in more than 70 countries. In the U.S., Shell operates in 50 states and employs more than 12,000 people working to help tackle the challenges of the new energy future.