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Thursday, August 25, 2022
by qrelihan
This summer Moran Environmental Recovery, LLC once again hosted summer interns, this year we had two, Isabelle Heron and Megan Gover. Both interns had the opportunity to experience the diverse profile of work that Moran Environmental Recovery, LLC performs daily. Isabelle and Megan had different internship experiences, with one working in the office and the other going out in the field, but both were able to see what potential careers in the environmental industry could look like.
Isabelle Heron is a rising senior at Providence College in Rhode Island, with an Environmental Biology major and a double minor in Business Innovation & Finance. Isabelle worked in the Randolph, MA office as a member of the Safety and Compliance team. She supported projects associated with the new Employee Qualifications portal and performed research for the License portal. Isabelle's research for the new license portal allowed me to add details about waste transporter licenses that require regular reporting to the portal. This is critical for MER to stay in compliance in the jurisdictions where waste is transported. Megan also interviewed members of the company leadership to discuss sustainability and environmental stewardship, of which she is very passionate. As the summer went on, she learned how operations and compliance are interrelated with the topic. How we perform our work and stay in compliance with environmental regulations, is not only important to our business but it also makes an impact on the environment. When asked about her summer internship, Isabelle said, "I most enjoyed working closely with peers on projects to guide my learning while also facing projects independently. I think a lot of that came from working with Leanne Stegman (VP, Safety and Compliance), who provided support so I could "tease" out projects methodically." I enjoyed speaking with Isabelle about her experience at MER this summer, as it reminded me of my previous internship with MER.
In fact, four years ago, I researched and, like Isabelle, saw the behind-the-scenes of how an environmental company operates. Both Isabelle and I learned about company operations from the perspective of corporate support, whereas Megan got to see how the company operates in the field. This allowed Megan to expand her MER network beyond the office in Randolph by meeting site supervisors and getting to ask them questions. The independent projects that Isabelle and I worked on exercised different skills than participating in trainings at job sites, but both provided growth opportunities.
Megan Gover is a rising junior at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, majoring in Marine Science Safety and Environmental Protection. This summer, Megan joined MER as an Environmental Field Technician. She worked with Shawn Doherty (Environmental Safety & East Coast Safety Manager), editing safety and training plans between visiting job sites. Megan would go to job sites once a week, where gained experience using the IAuditor app to perform site assessments. Megan enjoyed her time on job sites so much that she plans to add an OSHA minor to her degree when she heads back to school in the Fall. When she wasn't going to job sites, she had the opportunity to work with Jim McHugh (Health & Safety Training Manager) on training videos, where she did the voice-over for a new tripping and falling safety video. I did not get the opportunity to work with Megan this summer, but I talked with her about her experience, and she inspired me to make more of an effort to go out in the field to visit more job sites this year.
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Monday, May 16, 2022
by qrelihan
In addition to Green Marine, MER LLC has been a member of Green Business Bureau (GBB) since 2019. Green Business Bureau is a verified entity that provides online solutions to help businesses of all sizes learn, prioritize, manage, and certify green initiatives (GBB 2022). MER uses Green Business Bureau’s sustainability guides to find ways to strengthen our sustainability program.
The goal of GBB is to provide cost effective, simple, and achievable solutions for sustainability programs through the use of online tools. Green Business Bureau has developed the EcoAssessment to help companies identify weak spots in their sustainability programs. The EcoPlanner takes what the EcoAssessment identified as weak spots and provides solutions that will make companies like MER greener. Once MER completes the suggested steps to become greener, Green Business Bureau’s EcoScorecard will calculate the company’s score and receive its certification level. There are four different certification levels that members can be based on the results from the EcoAssessment. The four levels from lowest to highest are, Green Member, Green Aware, Gold and Platinum.
For example, purchasing green office supplies can earn a company like MER more points towards a higher certification level. Since MER has many resource centers across the country, a small change like swapping regular office supplies with greener products can make a big difference. However, since a lot of the work we do is performed at a job site and not at an office, Green Business Bureau has also suggested that our company chooses at least one day a year to volunteer in local environmental events or clean-ups. These are just two of the green solutions that MER has taken to the next level with our annual Earth Day clean-ups and a list of green office supplies that is frequently updated.
MER has a GBB Gold-level certification and is constantly striving to reach the Platinum level. Since Green Business Bureau’s certification process is based on the steps we take as a company to become greener, the more tasks and activities we complete, the more points we receive towards a higher certification level. Green Business Bureau understands that strengthening a sustainability program is not one size fits all, therefore the solutions and guidance it provides MER are tailored to the business operations at MER.
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Monday, May 9, 2022
by qrelihan
As an Environmental Company, it is important that our sustainability efforts can be supported and verified by an external third party. That’s where Green Marine comes in, as a voluntary environmental certification program for the North American marine industry. To receive a Green Marine certification, companies like MER report their annual environmental performance through self-evaluation assessments, these assessments are then reviewed by a verified third party to ensure that what is being reported is accurate. MER is a Partner member of Green Marine which means that it provides services or products to help other Green Marine participants reduce their companies' environmental impact.
In fact, the 14 key performance indicators that Green Marine has each participant report on addresses land, air, and water pollution. Over the years the KPIs Green Marine has developed are specific to habitats or species in the region where the companies operate. The goal of Green Marine is to encourage shipowners, ports, terminals, seaway corporations and shipyards in the US and Canada to establish their carbon footprint and then actively take steps to reduce it. Green Marine has participating companies self-report annually so that they can track their progress and see how much their carbon footprint has been reduced from the previous year.
The only thing more important than verifying our sustainability and green efforts is to make sure we are doing it with a company that we trust. Green Marine not only works to find ways for the marine industry to reduce their carbon footprint, but its mission aligns with our company values. For instance, Green Marine encourages the marine industry to exceed what the laws and regulations mandate that they do to be in compliance. MER is dedicated to achieving a higher level of performance that goes beyond what is asked and expected of them, just like Green Marine. By encouraging members of the marine industry to go beyond what is asked of them, Green Marine has cultivated a culture similar to that at MER where personnel care about the well being of the environment and are committed to a higher standard of performance.
To learn more about Green Marine, visit their website at: https://green-marine.org/
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Wednesday, February 23, 2022
by qrelihan
To learn more about our 2021 Sustainability initiatives and goals for 2022, use the link below to view our 2021 Sustainability Report:
https://express.adobe.com/page/3MRJx2cs3ZwbO/
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Monday, February 7, 2022
by qrelihan
Moving Forward with the Sustainability Program 2022
Goals for 2022
- Continuing to find ways to be a more sustainable company and help clients & suppliers do the same
- Continue to align initiatives with company values and track them
- Increase employee engagement and education
Stewardship & sustainability report document to come
Keep your eye out for the Stewardship & Sustainability Program Annual Report, it will be published to MER’s website soon, so be on the lookout for this.
It will outline MER’s sustainability goals in greater detail and upcoming volunteering opportunities for events like Earth Day & World Clean-Up Day.
Guest blog contributors
This year, we would like to include more stories and narrative pieces from guest contributors. Please reach out to qrelihan@moranenvironmental.com if you have a story, event, or tips that you would like to share on the Sustainability blog.
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