BUFFALO, N.Y.—Delaware North Companies is celebrating the 10th anniversary of ISO 14001 registration of GreenPath, the company’s award-winning environmental management system, with the registration of its global headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y. The registration to the standards put forth by the International Organization for Standardization signifies Delaware North’s continued commitment to stewardship.
Delaware North Companies’ global headquarters earlier this month completed a two-day audit necessary for maintaining ISO 14001 registration. The third-party ISO auditor reviewed the policy, the plan and the progress on Delaware North’s latest annual goals. The auditor then toured the building, quizzing employees and inspecting everything from the kitchen facilities at the Delaware North-owned Vito’s Market to the new single-stream recycling program relied upon by the headquarters staff of more than 300.
“ISO 14001 is essentially the gold standard for environmental management systems,” said Anne Marie McManus, director of environmental affairs and sustainability for Delaware North. “It keeps us on track, it keeps a focus on environmental improvement and it makes it a part of our everyday lives here at Delaware North. ISO 14001 registration tells the world that we place a priority on environmental improvement and constantly look for ways to shrink our environmental footprint.”
Every Employee Can Contribute
ISO 14001 provides a framework for a holistic, strategic approach to the company’s environmental policy, plans and actions. With this latest registration at global headquarters, Delaware North is leading a corporate-wide environmental standardization program. Through GreenPath’s ISO 14001 registration, every employee can contribute to the company’s environmental goals. ISO 14001’s simple and voluntary process has proven to help every division of Delaware North Companies minimize its environmental impact.
GreenPath began in the 1990s when Delaware North was awarded the contract to operate visitor services in Yosemite National Park. Soon after GreenPath was implemented, it became the first environmental management system of a U.S. hospitality company to be registered to ISO 14001. Select properties in the Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts division adopted the ISO 14001 environmental guidelines 10 years ago. Today, ISO registration is a companywide initiate.
“GreenPath started organically at a few facilities more than a decade ago,” McManus said. “Since then, the world has changed and our knowledge of environmental issues has changed. We’ve moved to this corporate ISO 14001 registration in order to encompass all of our activities and work towards corporate-level goals that we can all shout about and share our pride in.”
GreenPath has helped Delaware North divert thousands of tons from the solid waste stream, save millions of gallons of water, reduce energy consumption and devise new and better ways of doing things. GreenPath has been recognized at least 50 times with regional, national and even international awards.
Click here for more information.
