2021 WHC Awards Announced at WHC Conservation Conference
SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 9, 2021 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) announced the winners of its 2021 WHC Awards during WHC Conservation Conference, held virtually on June 8-9. 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 Waste Management, Bayer and Ontario Power Generation.
“WHC members, including Waste Management, Bayer and Ontario Power Generation lead by example, demonstrating the business case for conservation through their on-site actions and outreach efforts,” said Margaret O’Gorman, President, WHC. “Around the world, companies, programs and project teams are utilizing private lands to enact the nature-based solutions that are so critical to the global biodiversity and climate crises. It is an honor to recognize many leaders in corporate conservation through the WHC Awards.”
Waste Management received the 2021 WHC Corporate Conservation Leadership Award. This 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 Bayer, recognizes a company’s involvement in conservation through the sheer force of its employee teams who participate in its habitat and conservation education activities.
Ontario Power Generation won the Gold Tier Program Award, which honors the overall conservation depth of one exceptional program, for the conservation efforts of its Western Waste Management Facility and Bruce Complex in Ontario, Canada.
In addition to these corporate and program-level awards, individual projects are recognized for excellence in each of the WHC Project Guidance themes. This award category, presented by Boeing, offers projects of all sizes the ability to compete for recognition.
Waste Management was the year’s most honored company, picking up four awards, including the WHC Corporate Conservation Leadership Award and three project awards (Pollinators, Landscaped, and Awareness and Engagement) for the conservation and education efforts of Bucks County Landfills, located in Pennsylvania.
The following is a complete list of 2021 WHC Award Winners:
WHC Corporate Conservation Leadership Award
Waste Management
WHC Employee Engagement Award
Bayer
WHC Gold Program Award
Ontario Power Generation, Western Waste Management Facility & Bruce Complex | Ontario, Canada
WHC Avian Project Award
Vulcan Materials Company, Havre De Grace Quarry | Havre De Grace, Maryland U.S.A.
WHC Awareness & Engagement Project Award
Waste Management of PA, Bucks County Landfills | Morrisville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
WHC Bats Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Unidad de Producción Cerro Verde| Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
WHC Forests Project Award
CEMEX, Las Salinas & Laguna Cabral (República Dominicana) | Las Salinas, Barahona, Dominican Republic
WHC Formal Learning Project Award
Bridgestone Americas, Inc., Aiken County Off Road Tire Plant | Trenton, South Carolina, U.S.A.
WHC Grasslands Project Award
Crestwood Midstream, FBIR Grassland Reclamation | Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, North Dakota, U.S.A.
WHC Green Infrastructure Project Award
Davey Resource Group, Inc., WSSI Native Habitat | Gainesville, Virginia, U.S.A.
WHC Invasive Species Project Award
CRH Americas Materials, Inc., Gravette Quarry Site | Gravette, Arkansas, U.S.A.
WHC Landscaped Project Award
Waste Management of PA, Bucks County Landfills | Morrisville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
WHC Mammals Project Award
Vulcan Materials Company, Conservation of biodiversity and environmental services in the Mesoamerican Reef | Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico
WHC Marine Intertidal Project Award
BP, Cherry Point Refinery | Blaine, Washington, U.S.A.
WHC Other Habitats Project Award
California Resources Corporation, Elk Hills Conservation Area| Tupman, California, U.S.A.
WHC Pollinators Project Award
Waste Management of PA, Bucks County Landfills | Morrisville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
WHC Remediation Project Award
The Boeing Company, Santa Susana Field Laboratory| Canoga Park, California, U.S.A.
WHC Reptiles & Amphibians Project Award
CRH Americas Materials, Inc., Dufferin Aggregates Acton Quarry| Concord, Ontario, Canada
WHC Rocky Areas Project Award
Exelon, Goat Hill Serpentine Barrens Restoration | Nottingham, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
WHC Species of Concern Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Unidad de Producción Cerro Verde| Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
WHC Training Project Award
ITC Holdings, Transmission Line Right-of-Way at Tomlinson Arboretum| Clinton Township, Michigan, U.S.A.
WHC Wetlands & Water Bodies Project Award
Exelon, Morton Wetland | Morton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Award finalists and winners were chosen from Conservation Certification applications submitted from July 15, 2020 – December 31, 2020 that were granted certification. Information on award criteria can be found here.
About Wildlife Habitat Council
For 33 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.
