Environmental award for WPI Sawmilling Tangiwai

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 660, 29 October 1996, Page 1

Environmental award for WPI Sawmilling Tangiwai

WPI Sawmilling, Tangiwai, was announced the winner of the 1996 Koppers-Hickson Award for Excellence in the Environment last Thursday, 24 October 1996. The award, now in its second year, was introduced to encourage an improvement in environmental stewardship in the timber treatment industry. Entrants are accepted from around New Zealand, with the four finalists being evaluated and judged by a panel comprising timber experts and environmentalists. Criteria for determining the winner included plant and process design and environmental management. Koppers-Hickson managing director, Ron Eddy, when awarding the trophy and study grant prize, said that interest in the award had once again been evident throughout the treated timber industry. "If there is one result that can be safely predicted regarding the outcome of the first MMP election, it is that there will be an even greater emphasis on the environment in Parliament As a result, there will be an ongoing greening of industry and throughout New Zealand companies will continue upgrading and modifying their plant and practices to meet and exceed increasingly stringent environmental regulation," he said. "We hope that the Koppers-Hickson Environmental Award will continue to play a role in this greening process by providing visible acknowledgment to these plants that are working seriously at improving their environmental stewardship practices." The WPI Sawmilling timber treatment plant was commissioned in November 1995. It was designed to surpass all current resource consents and to allow for further site and technology development in line with environmental consideration. The plant is fully bunded, and all new equipment was installed with stringent efficiency and environmental care requirements. WPI group planning and distribution manager, Keith Swansbury, said that the company took environmental stewardship very seriously and would continue to develop further environmental strategies. "The award has provided a specific goal to achieve, but taking responsibility for the environment around the site is an ongoing project and will not stop here." The three other finalists were: Waverley Sawmills Ltd, Waverley; Jenkin Timber Ltd, Auckland; and Carter Holt Harvey Timber, Taupo. The award was presented by the Secretary for the Environment, Denise Church, at an industry function in Rotorua.