New White Paper Studies How Nature-Based Employee Engagement Offers Meaningful Opportunities for Employees to Participate in Conservation

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SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 21, 2020 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) offers a new white paper available for download today, Nature-Based Employee Engagement – Perspectives on Corporate Programs that Offer Meaningful Opportunities for Employees to Participate in Conservation. The white paper is available for free on our website.

Employee engagement is an integral part of most workplaces today. With historically low unemployment rates, competition for talent acquisition and retention are driving companies to invest in engagement efforts for a competitive advantage. Employee engagement programs help companies compete for new talent and retain existing staff by meeting a variety of needs including work/life balance, health and wellness, and value to the companies in which they operate.

Nature-Based Employee Engagement highlights several WHC members’ employee engagement programs that are focused on conservation and biodiversity, offering meaningful and accessible opportunities for employees to get active, learn something new and make a positive contribution to the environment. Case studies include:

  • BASF: Florham Park
  • CEMEX: CEMEX Florida
  • CRH Americas: Dresden Site
  • ExxonMobil: Houston Campus
  • General Motors: São Caetano do Sul Complex
  • IBM: Research Triangle Park
  • Owens Corning: World HQ
  • Waste Management: Bucks County Landfills

Sponsored by Waste Management, this white paper includes a forward by Greg Cekander Vice President, Environmental Management Group, Waste Management, in which he states, “Our employees and volunteers protect preservation as we aim to leave places better than we find them. In fact, volunteer dedication was celebrated with the WHC 2019 Employee Engagement Award, recognizing our involvement in conservation through the sheer force of employee teams who participate in conservation education activities.”

About Wildlife Habitat Council:

For 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.

2019 WHC Awards Presented at the WHC Conservation Conference

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SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 20, 2019 –  Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announced the winners of its 2019 WHC Awards at the 2019 WHC Conservation Conference, held November 19-20 in Baltimore. The WHC Awards honor excellence in corporate conservation; recipients include both national and international companies across a variety of industry sectors. This year’s top awards, signifying leadership in conservation, were won by Bayer, Waste Management and Koch.

“WHC members are environmental leaders at national and global levels, as evidenced by Bayer, Waste Management, Koch and all of our award winners,” said Margaret O’Gorman, President, WHC. “These outstanding projects and programs are prime examples of the positive influence and impact that corporate conservation can have on biodiversity, local communities and employees. This year 64 Silver and 44 Gold Programs were recognized as exceeding minimum requirements and being exceptional.”

Bayer received the 2019 Corporate Conservation Leadership Award. The Corporate Conservation Leadership Award honors one company’s overall achievement in conservation efforts, and signifies an exemplary level of corporate commitment to biodiversity and conservation education, and meaningful alignments with global conservation objectives.

The Employee Engagement Award, given to Waste Management, recognizes a company’s involvement in conservation through the sheer force of its employee teams who participate in its habitat and conservation education activities.

Koch received the Gold Tier Program Award for its conservation efforts at the Beaverhead Ranch near Yellowstone National Park in Montana. Koch was also awarded the Land Conservation Agreements Award for the same project.

The Gold Program Award honors the overall conservation depth of one exceptional program. Projects are recognized for excellence in each of the WHC Project Guidance themes. This category offers projects of all sizes the ability to compete for recognition. Learn more about the Project Award criteria here.

BP was the year’s most honored company, picking up four awards in the following categories: Invasive Species, Wetlands, Avian (BP, Warm Springs Ponds) and Mammals (BP, Dutchman).

The following is a complete list of 2019 Project Award winners:

  • Avian: BP, Warm Springs Ponds
  • Awareness and Community Engagement: Dow, Ward Hollow Wildlife Habitat
  • Bats: Lafarge Canada, Onoway Wash Plant
  • Forests: Covia, Planta San Juan
  • Formal Learning: Freeport-McMoRan, Port Nickel
  • Grasslands: FCA, Dundee Engine Plant
  • Green Infrastructure: 3M, 3M Center
  • Integrated Vegetation Management: Exelon, Pepco Transmission Right of Way
  • Invasive Species: BP, Warm Springs Ponds
  • Land Conservation: Koch Industries, Beaverhead Ranch
  • Landscaped: Freeport-McMoRan, Miami
  • Mammals: BP, Dutchman,
  • Other Habitats: Vulcan Materials Company, Azusa Rock, East Side Reclamation Project
  • Other Species: Ontario Power Generation, Wesleyville Creek Brook Trout Program
  • Pollinator: Boeing, Emery Landfill – Wichita
  • Reptiles and Amphibians: Dow, Ward Hollow Wildlife Habitat
  • Training: Bayer, Chesterfield
  • Wetlands: BP, Warm Springs Ponds

Award finalists and winners were chosen from Conservation Certification applications submitted from January 1, 2019 – August 1, 2019 that were granted certification. Applications received after August 1, 2019 and applications what were in the appeals process in 2019 will be considered for the 2020 WHC Awards. Information on award criteria can be found on our website.

About Wildlife Habitat Council

For 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 48 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and 29 countries. To learn more, visit www.wildlifehc.org or follow @WildlifeHC on Twitter.

ArcelorMittal grants Wildlife Habitat Council $45,000 for Climate Initiative

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SILVER SPRING, Md. (September 16, 2019)  – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) received $45,000 from the world’s leading integrated steel and mining company, ArcelorMittal, for its Climate Action Works initiative, a newly created initiative that is corporate-driven, community-minded and biodiversity-based.

With this grant, WHC hopes to build a framework that engages corporate landowners in leveraging their lands for climate mitigation and adaptation strategies that promote community resilience and ecosystem health. This framework directly supports ArcelorMittal’s stated objectives of increasing environmental sustainability and creating more sustainable communities.

The grant will allow WHC to convene a wide variety of stakeholders to identify obstacles and opportunities for climate-smart conservation on private sector lands. The goal is to increase awareness by business of the potential for natural climate solutions and identify a set of ecological stewardship options for diverse corporate lands.

Through this process, WHC hopes that more companies will be inspired to take action on their lands that meet their climate mitigation and adaptation goals. “The private sector has an opportunity to make land use and ecological restoration part of their climate plans,” said Margaret O’Gorman, president of Wildlife Habitat Council. “Our Climate Action Works initiative aims to highlight these opportunities and help companies take action in the communities where they operate and where their employees live and work.”

About Wildlife Habitat Council
 For 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 48 states and 29 countries.

About ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 18 countries. Guided by a philosophy to produce safe, sustainable steel, we are the leading supplier of quality steel in the major global steel markets including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with world-class research and development and outstanding distribution networks.

For More Information
Emily Girsch  |  Wildlife Habitat Council  |  240.247.0906

Margaret O’Gorman Named to the Environmental Leader and Energy Manager 2019 Environment + Energy 100

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SILVER SPRING, MD, MAY 14, 2019 – Margaret O’Gorman, President of the Wildlife Habitat Council has been named to the Environment + Energy Leader 100 by Environmental Leader and Energy Manager.

The Environment and Energy Leader 100 (E + E 100) is an annual program developed and run by Environmental Leader and Energy Manager Today recognizing leaders, innovators, shaker-uppers and doers in the environmental and energy management space.

“We are excited to announce the 2019 Honorees and celebrate the accomplishments of this elite class,” said Jennifer Hermes, Content Director of Business Sector Media. “The Environment + Energy Leader 100 program has doubled in growth since its inception and this year we are thrilled to recognize one hundred honorees that helped drive a product, program, company or the energy, environmental and sustainability industry as a whole.”

Honorees are nominated by peers and selected based on their impact on the industry or the company in which they work. They will be celebrated at the fourth annual Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference (ELEMCON), to take place May 13-15, 2019, at the Marriott Denver Tech Center.

About Wildlife Habitat Council

Wildlife Habitat Council partners with corporations, fellow conservation organizations, government agencies and community members to empower and recognize wildlife habitat and conservation education programs. Our members are environmental leaders at local, national and global levels, voluntarily managing their lands to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. Since 1988, WHC has certified more than 1,000 habitat and education programs worldwide; WHC Conservation Certification programs can be found in 47 states and 28 countries. To learn more, visit www.wildlifehc.org or follow @WildlifeHC on Twitter.

For More Information

Monica Keller  |  Wildlife Habitat Council  |  240.247.0930

What Will Your Role Be? – A Conservation Conference Recap

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During last month’s 2018 WHC Conservation Conference, WHC President Margaret O’Gorman ended her opening remarks by asking the audience, What will your role be?

It was an apropos question for this group of almost 500 corporate executives, CSR and EHS professionals, and site managers gathered to further their respective company’s biodiversity, corporate sustainability and community relations goals.

During her annual State of Corporate Conservation address, Margaret celebrated three decades of change within the corporate community as it relates to the environment, and noted that while the corporate actions of the past created the situation of the present, corporate actions today will create the future.

“I think towards a time where the sustainability strategies mainstreamed inside the corporate workplace now mainstream nature outside, where corporate landowners’ contributions to recovery and restoration efforts bring back the color of biodiversity in urban, suburban, rural and wilderness areas and where finally the old arguments and divisions that have kept the private sector and civil society at loggerheads are settled and we’re all operating in a world of mutual respect, mutual benefit and productive conservation efforts.”

The degree of participation and enthusiasm shown by attendees throughout the two-day event was evidence of a willingness and hunger to participate in the environment in a positive manner. While the latest reports from the IPCC and the IPBES make for grim reading, the theme of the Conference was to take heart and create action in the emerging recognition of the importance of nature-based solutions as both mitigation pathways and adaptation strategies for climate, which will also result in co-benefits for people and planet.

Attendees from across industry sectors and corporate functions heard from their peers about innovative efforts happening on corporate lands that led to robust biodiversity outcomes and increased mainstreaming of efforts from ad hoc to strategic. Phillips 66 talked about its project to connect gas stations to the company’s overall biodiversity goal by encouraging native plantings at these unlikely locations; Exelon shared its methodology to create strategic plans for conservation, and a panel of corporate executives from Covia, Ontario Power Generation and Toyota introduced the mining, utility and car company of the future, showing how innovation in both technology and thought was spurring deep change for companies and consumers.

Partner organizations Bat Conservation International, the U.S. Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Pollinator Partnership, among others, provided content to the breakout sessions and presented their work in the exhibit hall beside consultants and government agencies promoting their programs to the attendees.

The most talked about event at the conference was rapper Baba Brinkman and his Rap Guide to Climate Chaos. Performed at the Paris Climate Conference and to popular acclaim off-Broadway, his energetic performance laid out the politics, economics and science of climate change, pulling no punches in its direct message to a very unique audience.

The core of WHC’s Conservation Conference is celebration. Over 20 awards were presented during the conference including three top awards that recognize corporate commitment to biodiversity. This year, DTE Energy received the 2018 Corporate Conservation Leadership Award for the depth and breadth of its commitment to biodiversity. The Employee Engagement Award was presented to Exelon in recognition of the strength and commitment of its employee teams participating in its habitat and conservation education activities. General Motors received the 2018 Gold Program Award for its conservation efforts at the GM Canada CAMI Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. These awards were presented during an often raucous but intensely celebratory dinner where Baba Brinkman returned for a wrap-up rap of the Conference happenings.

With 30 years under its belt, this event displayed clearly to WHC that there is an ever-growing audience of corporations across all industry sectors who are eager to make a difference in whatever way possible. They know that successful efforts at the site level will drive change for conservation action across entire organizations, and they know the answer to the question, What will your role be?

Read more WHC blogs.

FCA US Joins Forces with WHC to Create Positive Conservation Outcomes | WHC now lists three of the top automakers in the world as members

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SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 15, 2017 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announces FCA US LLC as its newest member, joining General Motors, Toyota and 80 other national and international companies who are committed to managing their lands to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them.

Through WHC membership, FCA US will work with WHC to restore and enhance wildlife habitat at select FCA US properties across North America. The automaker’s conservation activities will be part of the collective positive impact of WHC members around the globe, currently in 48 U.S. states and 18 countries.

“FCA has long been recognized among the world’s leading companies for combined economic, environmental and social performance,” said Margaret O’Gorman, President, Wildlife Habitat Council. “As such, we share in the belief that corporate conservation is vital to advancing biodiversity, and we look forward to working with FCA US to continue to take a leading role in maintaining ecosystems while engaging employees and furthering community relations.”

“Our membership in the Wildlife Habitat Council reflects FCA’s approach to biodiversity, which combines employee engagement with a deep commitment to conserving our natural resources,” said Greg Rose, Director, Environmental Health and Safety, FCA US LLC. “The FCA US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan is a perfect example of how corporate lands can be conceived and developed with nature and wildlife in mind.”

When the Chrysler World Headquarters and Technology Center (CTC) was designed more than 25 years ago, one of the specific goals in the master plan was to preserve the natural environment. Today, the automaker manages the 504-acre site to ensure the freshwater ponds, the 100-acres of natural wetlands, riparian areas, and grasslands are preserved. The expansive wooded setting is home to a wide variety of wildlife species, including great blue herons, double-crested cormorants, wood ducks, cottontail rabbits, Blanding’s turtles, Monarch butterflies and bats.

The FCA US headquarters has been certified by WHC Conservation Certification since April 2015.

About Wildlife Habitat Council

Wildlife Habitat Council partners with corporations, their employees, fellow conservation organizations, government agencies and community members to recognize and encourage wildlife habitat projects for conservation, education and recreation. Our members are environmental leaders at local, national and global levels, voluntarily managing their lands to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. Since 1988, WHC has certified more than 1,000 habitat enhancement and conservation education programs worldwide. To learn more, visit www.wildlifehc.org or follow @WildlifeHC on Twitter.

About FCA US LLC

FCA US LLC is a North American automaker based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It designs, manufactures, and sells or distributes vehicles under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, Ram, FIAT and Alfa Romeo brands, as well as the SRT performance designation. The Company also distributes Mopar and Alfa Romeo parts and accessories. FCA US is building upon the historic foundations of Chrysler Corp., established in 1925 by industry visionary Walter P. Chrysler and Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (F.I.A.T.), founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli. FCA US is a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. (NYSE: FCAU/ MTA: FCA).

FCA, the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales, is an international automotive group. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “FCAU” and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol “FCA.”

For More Information

Monica Keller  |  Wildlife Habitat Council  |  240.247.0930

Kaileen Connelly   |  FCA US LLC  |  248.512.2927

  

New White Paper Studies the Environmental and Economic Benefits of Incorporating Conservation into a Remediation Process

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SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 18, 2017 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announces a new white paper available for download today, Transforming Remediation Sites into Conservation Assets — How Companies Leverage Business Needs for Positive Environmental Outcomes. The white paper is available for free at on our website.

This white paper demonstrates how companies involved in remediation are moving beyond meeting regulatory requirements and increasingly adopting conservation-based approaches to site cleanup and reuse. In doing so, they are not simply returning sites to their former states, but leveraging conservation to transform liabilities into ecological, community and corporate assets.

Transforming Remediation Sites into Conservation Assets highlights case studies of various strategies WHC members have taken in advancing biodiversity on cleanup sites to create wildlife habitat, support local conservation priorities, and build green spaces for the community. Case studies include:

  • Improving public perception: CSX Transportation
  • Using biodiversity restoration to reduce costs: Bridgestone Americas
  • Providing green spaces for education and recreation: Motorola Solutions
  • Managing a restricted site with an event-based approach: Chemours
  • Meeting community needs through site reuse: BASF

Sponsored by The Boeing Company, this white paper includes a foreword by Steve Shestag, Director, Environment, Environment, Health & Safety, The Boeing Company, in which he states, “In our pursuit of global environmental leadership, we champion the value of going above and beyond compliance. Put quite simply, our goal is to leave places better than we found them.”

Wildlife Habitat Council thanks The Boeing Company for their sponsorship of this white paper.

About Wildlife Habitat Council

Wildlife Habitat Council promotes and certifies habitat conservation and management on corporate lands through partnerships and education. WHC programs take corporate sustainability goals and objectives and translate them into tangible and measurable on-the-ground actions. Through a focus on building collaboration for conservation with corporate employees, other conservation organizations, government agencies and community members, WHC programs focus on healthy ecosystems and connected communities. WHC-assisted wildlife habitat and conservation education programs are found in 48 states and 17 countries. www.wildlifehc.org

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Corporations Recognized for Conservation Excellence at 2016 WHC Conservation Conference

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SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 9, 2016 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announced the winners of its 2016 WHC Awards at the 2016 WHC Conservation Conference, held November 2-3 in Baltimore. The WHC Awards honor excellence in corporate conservation; recipients include both national and international companies across a variety of industry sectors. This year’s top awards, signifying leadership in conservation, were won by General Motors and CEMEX.

“Recognizing corporate conservation is at the heart of our organization, and it is exemplified by the work of General Motors, CEMEX and all of our award winners,” said Margaret O’Gorman, President, WHC. “These outstanding projects and programs are prime examples of the positive influence and impact that corporate conservation can have on biodiversity, local communities and employees.”

General Motors received the 2016 Corporate Conservation Leadership Award and the 2016 Employee Engagement Award. The Corporate Conservation Leadership Award honors one company’s overall achievement in conservation efforts, and signifies an exemplary level of corporate commitment to biodiversity and conservation education, and meaningful alignments with global conservation objectives. The Employee Engagement Award recognizes a company’s involvement in conservation through the sheer force of its employee teams who participate in its habitat and conservation education activities.

CEMEX was the year’s most honored company, picking up not only the 2016 Gold Tier Program Award for its conservation efforts at the El Carmen ecological reserve, but also Project Awards in the following categories: Awareness and Community Engagement (CEMEX, Atotonilco); Desert, Forest, Mammals and Species of Concern (CEMEX, El Carmen).

The Gold Program Award honors the overall conservation depth of one exceptional program. Projects are recognized for excellence in each of the WHC Project Guidance themes. This category offers projects of all sizes the ability to compete for recognition. Learn more about the Project Award criteria at here. The following is a complete list of 2016 Project Award winners:

  • Avian: Freeport-McMoRan, Safford Operations
  • Awareness and Community Engagement: CEMEX, Atotonilco
  • Bats: DTE Energy, Muskegon Service Center
  • Desert: CEMEX, El Carmen
  • Forest: CEMEX, El Carmen
  • Formal Learning: General Motors, Vancouver Parts Distribution Centre
  • Grasslands: Freeport-McMoRan, Tyrone
  • Green Infrastructure: ITC Holdings, Wayland Warehouse
  • Integrated Vegetation Management: Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation, El Cerrito
  • Invasive Species: Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Farley Nuclear Plant
  • Invasive Species Coordinated Approaches: LafargeHolcim, Lafarge Texada Quarry
  • Landscaping: California Resources Corporation, THUMS Islands
  • Mammals: CEMEX, El Carmen
  • Pollinators: Oldcastle Materials, Oldcastle Nature Trail at the Marcus Autism Center
  • Reptiles and Amphibians: Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Farley Nuclear Plant
  • Species of Concern: CEMEX, El Carmen
  • Training: Buzzi Unicem USA, Wildlife Habitat and Outdoor Classroom, Pryor, OK
  • Wetlands and Water Bodies: CSX Transportation, Nocatee Site
  • Xeric Shrubland: Bridgestone Americas, Bridgestone Neumaticos de Monterrey

Award finalists and winners were chosen from Conservation Certification applications submitted from January 1, 2016 – August 1, 2016 that were granted certification. Applications received after August 1, 2016 and applications what were in the appeals process in 2016 will be considered for the 2017 WHC Awards. Information on award criteria can be found at on our website.

About Wildlife Habitat Council

Wildlife Habitat Council promotes and certifies habitat conservation and management on corporate lands through partnerships and education. WHC Conservation Certification programs take corporate sustainability goals and objectives and translate them into tangible and measurable on-the-ground actions. Through a focus on building collaboration for conservation with corporate employees, other conservation organizations, government agencies and community members, WHC programs focus on healthy ecosystems and connected communities. WHC-assisted wildlife habitat and conservation education programs are found in 48 states and 17 countries. www.wildlifehc.org

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Reimagining the Corporate Campus

New White Paper Examines Opportunities for the Corporate Campus to Benefit Biodiversity, Employees and Communities

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SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 19, 2016 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announces a new white paper available for download today, Reimagining the Corporate Campus, Creating Impactful Outcomes that Benefit Biodiversity and Communities. The white paper is available for free at www.wildlifehc.org/whitepapers.

The white paper demonstrates how new and existing corporate campuses can incorporate nature in their designs and realize the cost savings of native landscaping, the human benefits of a more natural setting, and the opportunity to restore productive habitat and reconnect a fragmented suburban landscape.

Reimagining the Corporate Campus highlights case studies of various strategies WHC members have taken that have proven successful in advancing biodiversity on a corporate landscape. Case studies include:

  • Reduced mowing: DuPont, General Motors
  • Native landscaping: Benjamin Moore, Ricoh Americas
  • Conservation education: Bayer Corporation
  • Avian nesting habitat: Bristol-Myers Squibb, The Dow Chemical Company
  • Stray and feral cat control: Exelon Corporation
  • Invasive species control: Pfizer

In addition, this new white paper complements a General Session and Workshop on Day 2 of the WHC Conservation Conference, starting at 8 a.m., Thursday, November 3 at the Baltimore Hilton. Registration information can be found here.

The General Session, ”Reimagining the Corporate Campus,” will be presented by Claudia West, Landscape Designer and Author, and Naomi Edelson, Senior Director, Wildlife Partnerships, National Wildlife Federation. The session will be introduced by Derek Fairclough, Senior Vice President, Environmental, Health and Safety, BASF Corporation. Mr. Fairclough will also present the 2016 Wildlife Habitat Council Landscaping Award to one of the following finalists: California Resources Corporation; General Motors and ITC Holdings.

Wildlife Habitat Council thanks BASF Corporation for their sponsorship of this white paper.

About Wildlife Habitat Council

Wildlife Habitat Council promotes and certifies habitat conservation and management on corporate lands through partnerships and education. WHC programs take corporate sustainability goals and objectives and translate them into tangible and measurable on-the-ground actions. Through a focus on building collaboration for conservation with corporate employees, other conservation organizations, government agencies and community members, WHC programs focus on healthy ecosystems and connected communities. WHC-assisted wildlife habitat and conservation education programs are found in 48 states, the District of Columbia and 17 countries. www.wildlifehc.org

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Collaborations for Conservation: Keystone Policy Center honors WHC, GM and Toyota as national leaders in sustainability

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SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 8, 2016 – The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), along with its members General Motors and Toyota Motor North America, have been jointly honored with the 23rd Annual Keystone Policy Center Leadership in Environment Award, recognizing their partnership to expand wildlife habitat, support pollinator health, and enhance biodiversity around the world.

Accepting the award will be Margaret O’Gorman, President, WHC; Kevin Butt, Regional Director, Toyota North American environmental division; and Greg Martin, Executive Director, Global Public Policy, General Motors Company.

“We’re honored to share this award with General Motors and Toyota,” said O’Gorman. “Only 10 percent of Fortune Global 500 companies have adopted biodiversity goals, including GM and Toyota, and as such, their efforts towards conservation and biodiversity across the globe are exemplary models for other corporations to follow.”

The Keystone Policy Center, a Colorado-based nonprofit organization founded in 1975, also presented the following awards at a dinner ceremony at The Newseum in Washington, D.C. on June 8, 2016:

  • Spirit of Keystone Award to John Echohawk, Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund
  • The Founder’s Award to Ken Powell, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of General Mills
  • Leadership in Energy to the 51st State, an Initiative of the Smart Electric Power Alliance
  • Leadership in Government to U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire
  • Leadership in the Public Interest to Judy Woodruff, co-anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour
  • Dignitaries, including Bob Perciasepe, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Edward Gabriel, former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Environmental Defense Fund’s Fred Krupp, The Nature Conservancy’s Glenn Prickett, and Shelby Coffey III, Vice Chairman of The Newseum

About Wildlife Habitat Council

Wildlife Habitat Council promotes and certifies habitat conservation and management on corporate lands through partnerships and education. WHC’s programs take corporate sustainability goals and objectives and translate them into tangible and measurable on-the-ground actions. WHC membership includes 85 corporations, many of which are Fortune 500 companies, including Bridgestone, Chevron, DuPont, Exelon, Freeport-McMoRan, General Motors, Pacific Gas & Electric and Waste Management. WHC-assisted wildlife habitat and conservation education programs are found in 45 states and 13 countries. www.wildlifehc.org

About Keystone Policy Center

The Keystone Policy Center has worked at the forefront of public policy and dispute resolution for more than 40 years. From energy to education and health to sustainability, Keystone’s work has shaped public policy debates at local, state, and national levels. Keystone’s exceptional combination of experience and expertise have led to groundbreaking progress and lasting solutions when all other efforts have failed. www.keystone.org

About General Motors

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world’s largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through their Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment.  As part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

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