SAUGUS ― The Wildlife Habitat Council, a conservation organization composed of leaders at local, national, and global levels, has bestowed a meaningful honor on WIN Waste Innovations ― a Gold Certification honoring WIN’s protection of the town’s Bear Creek Sanctuary.
The Gold Certification is the highest honor given by the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), which said in a statement that WIN (formerly Wheelabrator Saugus) deserved this distinction for “meeting the ‘strict requirements’ of the WHC’s certification program, which signifies leadership in corporate environmental efforts.”
“We are particularly pleased by the Wildlife Habitat Council’s highest certification because it validates our strategy of supporting community-based causes, like Bear Creek,” said WIN Vice President of Environmental Compliance Jim Connolly.
WIN’s support of Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, a 370-acre property that neighbors an important estuary, has helped to protect the site as a bird migration staging area. One of the largest such areas in northeastern Massachusetts, according to the statement, the site is also a habitat for more than 200 bird species among other native and migrating animals. The statement added that Bear Creek is also a well-functioning educational site as well as a popular recreation area, featuring more than 1,000 feet of walking trails.
“WIN’s protection and management of the Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary is recognized as meeting the strict requirements of WHC Conservation Certification,” said WHC President Margaret O’Gorman. “Companies achieving WHC Conservation Certification, like WIN, are environmental leaders, voluntarily supporting 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, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 25 countries.
WIN, a company providing waste and recycling solutions to communities in eastern Massachusetts, noted in a statement that one of their core tenets is “preserving our environment for future generations while providing for today’s needs.” In addition to operating waste-to-energy facilities that annually convert 6.7 million tons of waste into renewable energy to power 340,000 homes, according to the statement, WIN also recycles more than 234,000 tons of reusable material
Beyond engaging in environmentally-conscious operations, WIN supports many community initiatives that promote ecology and green space through partnerships with commercial and municipal customers, schools, local charities and others. At present, WIN supports 250 community-based organizations’ ecological efforts, such as planting urban tree canopies in Baltimore, helping communities reach carbon neutrality by preserving carbon stores in salt marshes, reducing energy consumption by up to 30 percent by bringing green infrastructure to city areas, removing plastic from public green spaces before they turn into microplastics and simply restoring sparrow nests at Saugus’ own Bear Creek.
“We are committed to supporting initiatives that do a world of good by educating and mobilizing partners to conserve the health of our environment and local communities,” said WIN Senior Marketing Strategist Michelle Firmbach Nadeau in a statement. “Bear Creek is a shining example of what can happen when business, environmental and community-based organizations work together in protecting our planet.”
WIN Waste will be recognized at the WHC 2022 Conservation Conference on June 14-15 in Detroit.
