closely with the local Muckleshoot Indian Tribe to ensure waterway access for fishing during cleanup and restoration activities. Anderson recalled a point when he knew the public had developed confidence in Boeing as a responsive neighbor. “A local resident stood up at a public meeting and said he trusted Boeing because we kept the public informed and responded to concerns,” Anderson said. “The project’s success has set a standard for public involvement.” On the other side of the United States, in South Carolina, this willingness to pursue creative environmental solutions has won the support of key conservation groups and government agencies for an ambitious wetlands mitigation effort near the Boeing South Carolina site in North Charleston. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control recently approved the comprehensive plan to preserve nearly 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares), including more than 2,000 acres of wetlands, on three separate tracts in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The mitigation plan is part of the permitting process for 468 acres (190 hectares) in North Charleston that Boeing will lease from the state 26 Frontiers November 2014 for potential future growth. “We call this plan our jewel. It will protect the land, water quality, and rare and endangered wildlife species,” said Wes Wilson, civil engineer and project manager. “It’s unique because it preserves far more land than people expected on a project this size.” Elizabeth Hagood, executive director of the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, described the plan as “a true collaboration and victory for all citizens in protecting what is unique to our way of life in the Lowcountry and one of South Carolina's most significant landscapes.” Adding value and expanding opportunity for the company and for local communities are at the heart of another environmental collaboration in Brazil, where Boeing is nurturing new markets for plants that can be used to make sustainable aviation biofuel. “I show farmers in small communities in rural Brazil how they can supply feedstocks for biofuel in a way that won’t necessarily change how they do things but add to them,” said Onofre Andrade, senior aviation biofuel coordinator at the Boeing Research & Technology center in Sao José dos Campos, Brazil. “We show them how to meet global sustainability standards as a group,” Andrade said. That work, he added, helps build a sustainable aviation biofuel industry. In Brazil, sugar cane already is being turned into aviation biofuel and research is underway on potential feedstocks, such as the native macauba tree. When produced sustainably, aviation biofuel reduces carbon emissions by 50 to 80 percent compared with petroleum jet fuel on a gallon-for-gallon basis, Andrade said. English, Boeing’s Environment, Health & Safety leader, noted the variety of environmental projects such as those in Brazil, South Carolina, Seattle and Kansas involve collaboration with diverse partners. These projects have something in common, she said: “They go above and beyond the standard and create something communities embrace and Boeing can be proud of.” n patrick.a.summers@boeing.com Boeing is continually researching and developing innovative technologies to improve the environmental performance of its products and operations, as well as of the aerospace industry. Learn more about Boeing’s environmental strategy and performance in the company’s 2014 Environment Report, available at boeing.com/environment. Boeing works with organizations, institutions and customers on six continents. PHOTO: Sugar cane straw is one feedstock that can help support a sustainable aviation biofuel industry in Brazil. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Frontiers November 2014 Issue
To see the actual publication please follow the link above