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Koppers Follansbee Plant Achieves Environmental
Certification
Company plans to expand ISO 14001 certification to all locations
in 2004
PITTSBURGH, January 5,
2004 – The Koppers plant in Follansbee,
W.Va., has achieved ISO 14001 certification for its Environmental
Management System (EMS).
“Environmental stewardship is a core value
at Koppers,” said
Steven Lish, Follansbee plant manager. “Our employees have
worked hard to gain this certification, but they have worked harder
to comply with and improve our environmental protection practices.”
The
Follansbee plant has been part of Koppers Carbon Materials and
Chemicals division since 1988. Each year about 50 employees
distill
coal tar into carbon pitch, naphthalene, refined tars, paving materials,
roofing products, and specialty pitches.
“This certification tells the world that
Koppers is committed to systematic and sustainable improvement in
our environmental programs,” said
Randall D. Collins, Vice President of Safety, Health and Environmental
Affairs. “While we will continue our close attention to meeting
all environmental regulations, the standard provides a methodology
to seek out potential problems and fix them.”
The international
standard allows Koppers to implement cost-effective procedures
that are applicable worldwide. Koppers is working to
gain certification for all its locations worldwide in 2004. ISO
14001
-- established by the International Organization for Standardization
-- is the world’s most recognized EMS framework, used by
more than 37,000 organizations in 112 countries.
Meeting the standard
also provides economic benefits, as certified companies use less
energy and fewer natural resources, generate
less waste, reduce disposal costs, recycle raw materials and
improve process
efficiency.
About Koppers
Koppers, with corporate headquarters and a research center in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a global integrated producer of
carbon compounds and treated wood products. Including its joint
ventures, Koppers operates 39 facilities in the United States,
United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, the Pacific Rim and South
Africa.
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