Lucent - 1997 Environment, Health and Safety Report

1997 EH&S Report - Employee Recognition

The Lucent Technologies Environmental Heroes Award program recognizes those who lead by example. Our second annual Award program yielded 70 entries and 15 winning projects, ranging from environmental improvements in manufacturing processes to promotion of farmland preservation. The winning projects were selected by a consortium of judges with a global perspective assembled by Renew America, a nonprofit environmental awareness organization in Washington, D.C.

1> Bicycle Commuting Program— "Work to Live, Live to Bike, Bike to Work." That's the motto of Peter Chen, an employee in Lisle, Illinois, who has coordinated local participation in an annual Bike-to-Work Week since 1992, and provides encouragement and support for bicycle commuting all year round. Chen has mapped out bicycle routes from several areas around the Lisle campus and manages an e-mail distribution list and a Web page to keep bicycle commuters informed about cycling issues. In recent years, the program has expanded to include other companies and government agencies in the area. Last year's Bike-to-Work Week resulted in more than 1,000 miles of bicycle commuting.

2> Project Wild - Little Alamance Creek Nature Trail—Project Wild is the name of a half-mile nature trail that follows Little Alamance Creek, located on the back of Lucent's Guilford Center complex in McLeansville, North Carolina. Lucent and the North Carolina Wildlife Commission began the trail's construction in 1995, and many local educators have used it as an outdoor learning facility to introduce students to environmental responsibility. Lucent employees and volunteers cleared paths for trails, planted more than 500 native flowers and shrubs, and constructed a wood shelter and an amphitheater for on-site classes. The project has laid the groundwork for future generations to understand and respect their environment.

3> Yukon Recycles Environmental Conservation—Yukon Recycles is an all-volunteer recycling operation in Yukon, Oklahoma. Aubrey Arrington, an officer on the city committee and a quality consultant at Lucent's Oklahoma City Works, helps manage the ongoing recycling activities for Yukon, including training and coordinating more than 70 volunteers. Arrington's most recent accomplishments include arranging for the purchase of two self-service recycling containers - making recycling available to Yukon residents 24 hours a day, and developing a proposal for a curbside recycling program. At work, he constantly stresses to colleagues the importance of reducing, re-using and recycling and even offers to match donations to environmental charitable organizations made by employees in his office.

4> Promoting Farmland Preservation—Ray Stepnoski sees his job as township supervisor in Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania, as more than just ceremonial. In his four years of service to the community, he saved the township more than 950 acres of prime farmland, and changed zoning to promote the use of Transferable Development Rights. He has also instituted a landscape review committee, an extensive plant list to promote the reintroduction of indigenous plant species in developments and a wastewater management system that uses recycled waste water in crop irrigation.

5> Landfill Methane Recovery Project—One-and-a-half miles northwest of Columbus, Ohio, at the Bedford I Landfill, methane gas is compressed and piped to Lucent's Columbus Works' power plant, where it is used to fuel the plant's primary boiler. The U.S. EPA recognized this application as the premier project of its kind in the U.S. The project is also notable for the way fuel can be burned - either natural gas or methane can be burned independently or simultaneously in any proportion.

6> Improvements in Environmental and Energy Efficiency—This team of Microelectronics operations employees in Tres Cantos, Spain, analyzed their facilities and found innovative solutions to improve their efficiency, generating significant energy savings and environmental improvements. They modified a treatment system to reduce the concentration of phosphates in wastewater discharge, re-engineered the wastewater plant, improved cooling systems, and re-used chemicals and cooling water. These efforts have reduced key pollutants by 69 percent, emission of greenhouse gases by 108 metric tons, and energy consumption by 1.2 million kilowatt hours. In addition, total electricity, water and chemical expenses have been reduced by $220,000 per year.

7> Lucent RE-USE Business— The Lucent RE-USE business at the Merrimack Valley Works remanufactures used equipment, reducing the amount of waste and potential pollution that would accompany the production of new equipment from raw materials. And re-using previously manufactured parts reduces the amount of energy required to provide a fully functional piece of telecommunications equipment to customers.

8> Speedy Conversion to a Non-VOC Optical Fiber Color Coating System—In April 1997, the Atlanta Works plant faced a challenge to develop and implement an enhanced color coating system. A team of Bell Labs and Network Products Group employees met the challenge in just 10 weeks by formulating 12 different colors, selecting a new ink manufacturer and using existing processing equipment. The volatile organic compound (VOC) emission is down 92 percent in the ink area, and overall VOC emission has been reduced by 67 percent.

9> Campinas Office/Manufacturing Construction Program—Drew Friestedt, a Lucent Real Estate project manager, was in charge of an office construction project in Brazil, where local regulations require a level of waste water treatment that is not consistent with Lucent's worldwide standards. Friestedt and his team developed an approach that will ensure that waste is disposed of in a manner consistent with Lucent's environment, health and safety standards.

10> Non-Hazardous Waste Management Best Practices—Led by Lucent Real Estate, with Global Procurement playing a key role, a team of employees set out to create a non-hazardous waste management best practice for use by service buyers, property and environmental managers and property occupants. The Practice includes information needed to conduct waste management operations, such as planning, buying, managing and delivering. The result was a practice that is designed to be ISO 14001 compliant, provides for the measurement of generated company waste and favors recycling over landfill deposit.