Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia, LLC (YTMV) has received the 2015 Environmental Warrior Award from the Virginia Water Environment Association (VWEA). The award was bestowed upon the Salem, Va., facility as part of VWEA’s 2015 Industrial Waste and Pretreatment Environmental Excellence Awards Program.
The Environmental Warrior Award, presented for the first time in 2015, recognizes the company that has made the greatest improvement in their environmental compliance program, according to the VWEA. The award was presented to Tetsuro “Tex” Murakami, YTMV president, at a ceremony held in Charlottesville, Virginia, on March 3.
The VWEA is a nonprofit organization established in 1947 to protect the water resources of the State of Virginia. Its members include citizens, environmentalists, and state government employees from across the state.
YTMV earned the Environmental Warrior Award thanks to its achievement in complying with industrial water treatment regulations, as well as its environmental conservation efforts over the years. YTMV succeeded in lowering its industrial waste emissions by 45 percent from 2012 to 2014, and as of the end of December 2014, it had lowered the percent of waste sent to landfills to 2.5 percent.
YTMV is targeting a zero-percent landfill ratio in 2015. Also in 2014, YTMV was accepted into the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program (VEEP) with an E4 status, the highest status rating awarded by the program.
YTMV received ISO 14001 certification for environmental management systems in 2007 and has continued to promote environmental protection and conservation in all its activities.
Murakami said YTMV will continue its efforts to improve energy efficiency, water resource management, chemical management and environmental awareness among its employees.
Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia, LLC and Yokohama Tire Corporation are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. (YRC), a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires since 1917. Servicing an extensive sales network throughout the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation (YRC’s North American manufacturing and marketing arm), is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes tires for high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s broad product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.
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