At UGI, sustainability is a concept we embrace throughout the year, from our daily office practices to how we conduct business. Visit the sustainability section of our website to learn all about the green initiatives at UGI. Or, you can read this post to take a look at some of our green office practices. 

 We take the opportunity on Earth Day to renew our commitment to the environment and celebrate the ways we continue to strive to be good environmental stewards of the Earth. For instance, this year, UGI employees will have the opportunity to donate to the Arbor Day Foundation, which is a nonprofit dedicated to planting trees across America. Each employee’s donation will be matched by the Company.

Tony Rymar, Environmental Engineer, UGI Utilities - Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence recipient

 This year, on Earth Day, we have a special member of our team who we’d like to congratulate and honor for his dedication to working hard to protect and preserve the environment. His name is Tony Rymar, and he is the Environmental Engineer at UGI Utilities. We’re calling him “UGI’s Earth Day Hero” – a title we feel he deserves. But it isn’t just UGI who feels that way – the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection agrees with us. The PADEP presented Tony Rymar with the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence at a ceremony in Harrisburg on April 18.

 Rymar, along with UGI, were recognized for a 2011 project that involved the renewal of four former manufactured gas plant properties for use as commercial businesses.

 “We excavated soil, groundwater, and associated materials impacted by contaminants as a result of the manufactured gas plant process,” Rymar said. “The result was a remediation to protect human health and the environment. The health risk associated with these old industrial sites has been reduced significantly to allow for beneficial use of the sites within the local community.”

 In the ceremony program book, Michael Krancer, PADEP Secretary, wrote, “Each year, projects that encourage and promote environmental stewardship are recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the conservation of Pennsylvania’s environment. Your dedication to promoting the protection of the natural resources in Pennsylvania has not gone unnoticed.”

Rymar, who lives in Berks County with his wife, Kristine; son, Jack; dog, Sparky; and cat, Lucky, has been an Environmental Engineer at UGI for four years. He also serves on UGI Corporation’s Sustainability Committee.

“This award shows that my hard work is being recognized by people who I respect and admire within the Environmental Field,” he said. “I love when a contaminated and abandoned property is restored and reused for beneficial use by third parties, UGI, or the local community.”

Congratulations to our Earth Day Hero!

Do you know someone who is an Earth Day Hero? Tell us about them!

And be sure to check our our blog and Facebook page tomorrow for an exciting Earth Day contest and a chance to win a Kindle Fire!