Seven Iowa companies now have the potential to save more than $1.5 million this year to bolster profits and meet environmental targets as a result of working with the Iowa Department of Natural Resource Pollution Prevention (P2) Intern Program.
The P2 Intern Program creates a unique partnership between academia, business and government that works together to achieve economic and environmental results. Since 2001, companies have reduced operating costs by more than $111.8 million as a result of implementing P2 Intern Projects.
This program places top engineering students in Iowa facilities to focus on environmental priorities. After conducting an analysis, gathering data, and establishing a baseline, interns research alternative processes or technologies and develop strategies to improve the way resources are used.
The 2021 projects addressed water and energy usage, resource recovery and reuse opportunities, hazardous material usage, process efficiency, and quality assurance. Annual environmental reductions generated in 2021 include:
- 47,191,203 gallons of water
- 5 tons of hazardous material
- 586 tons of solid waste, and
- 3 million kilowatt hours of energy
Full case summaries of these and past projects are available here. [Parisien]
