The EPA recognized two individuals and one organization in Vermont at the virtual 2022 Environmental Merit Awards ceremony. The awardees were among 20 recipients across New England honored for contributing to improving New England’s environment. New England’s annual Environmental Merit Awards are given to community leaders, scientists, government officials, business leaders, schools, and students who represent different approaches, but a common commitment to environmental protection.
“EPA is proud to recognize and congratulate Vermont awardees’, for their great accomplishments and their continued efforts towards combatting climate change, bringing cleaner air and water to neighborhoods, and ensuring our underserved communities’ voices are being heard,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “Their ingenuity and commitment truly make a difference in our New England communities.”
The Environmental Merit Awards, which are given to people who have already taken action, are awarded in the categories of individual; business (including professional organizations); local, state or federal government; and environmental, community, academia or nonprofit organization. Also, each year EPA presents lifetime achievement awards for individuals. The 2022 Environmental Merit Award Winners from Vermont listed by category are:
Lifetime Achievement
Lynn Rubinstein
Executive Director Northeast Recycling Council, Brattleboro
After four decades dedicated to resource conservation, Lynna Rubenstein will retire this year, leaving behind a legacy of work that will have a lasting impact. For over 20 years, Lynn was executive director of the Northeast Recycling Council, a nonprofit focused on reducing waste, recycling and composting, as well as on environmentally preferable purchasing and decreasing the toxicity of solid waste.
The council received many awards as Lynn expanded its reach by getting the participation of more players and putting in place more than 100 projects. These projects aimed to recycle electronics; manage unwanted medication; document the relationship of jobs to recycling, and inspire initiatives for recycling newsprint.
Lynn has been a trusted voice for the private recycling industry and government, fostering an environment where industry and government can discuss common issues and find solutions. She co-founded many programs, including the State Electronics Challenge, Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse, and Government Recycling Demand Champions. Her related presentations, reports and articles are all available on the council’s website.
An example of Lynn’s commitment to keeping the council dynamic in a changing economy and waste stream, she helped form a partnership in 2017 between the council and the Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association.
While Lynn is known for her leadership of the Northeast Recycling Council, she also served as solid waste manager for Northampton; conservation director for Holyoke; mercury and electronics recycling program director at the University of Massachusetts; professor of land use management; resource planner, and attorney with the US Department of Justice.
Throughout her career, Lynn pioneered innovative programs, forged connections, and raised the level of regional cooperation across the Northeast. Lynn’s work has had a substantial impact that will last well into the future.
Government
Kesha Ram-Hinsdale
State Senator, Montpelier
State Senator Kesha Ram-Hinsdale has promoted environmental justice for over a decade. Kesha wrote a bill in 2007 that tied economic and racial justice to environmental justice, which she worked to introduce as a college senior. In 2009 Kesha became the youngest state legislator in the country and the first person of color elected to represent Burlington. After serving as a legislator, Kesha led community engagement efforts that brought together academics, activists, non-profit leaders, and community partners who sought to answer the question, “What does Environmental Justice look like in Vermont?” and to craft policy based on the testimony of those who have been systematically excluded from the mainstream environmental movement.
Beginning in 2019, Kesha and her partners in a rural EJ project held conversations in overburdened and underserved communities. As facilitator, Kesha asked about participants’ quality of life, and how they wanted the state to respond to environmental and health crises. During the pandemic, the project held 17 virtual conversations with 77 participants, drawing on established relationships with members of the Bhutanese Nepali, Somali Bantu, migrant farmworker, senior, rural, deaf/hard of hearing, disabled, and mobile home communities. This led to Vermont’s first ever EJ Policy, which passed this year, and a network of community liaisons that is a model for community engagement.
Business
GlobalFoundries, Essex
The GlobalFoundries Vermont Facility, known as FAB9, manufactures semiconductor chips for global telecommunications and consumer electronics markets. To make semiconductors, energy, water, chemicals, and gases are needed. The company’s Global Environmental Health and Safety Policy focuses on reducing energy, water use, chemical use, and waste generation. When evaluating resource conservation projects, FAB9 uses the principles of the waste management hierarchy, with source reduction the preferred approach. Projects that use fewer chemicals and nonhazardous alternatives, or find reuse opportunities, also save money and improve operations.
The FAB9 photolithography team, which is in charge of a key process in producing semiconductors, has put in place four projects that reduced solvent use by 70,468 liters, saving $652,354 a year while reducing chemical handling and waste shipments. The team set the standard to be “best in class” for photochemical use and the Vermont site was recognized by several tooling suppliers for driving down solvent use without impacting process requirements. GlobalFoundries coordinates an annual workshop that shares information and projects with photolithography teams worldwide. Last year, after details of its projects were shared, three factories committed to putting in place solvent reductions.
Ira Leighton “In Service to States” Annual Award
Every year, one individual in New England is selected to receive the Ira Leighton “In Service to States” Environmental Merit Award. It is a tribute to our long-time colleague and friend, Ira Leighton, who passed away in 2013, after serving 41 years at the U.S. EPA. Ira’s dedication and passion for protecting the environment was evident to all who knew him. He was a constant presence in New England, a force who took ideas and made them actionable tasks that resulted in measurable improvements. Today, the 2022 award was presented to Melanie Loyzim of Maine.
Melanie Loyzim
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Melanie Loyzim, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, has been a leader over the past two decades in promoting environmental protection and maintaining a viable economy.