Our Commitment
Bath Iron Works is committed to minimization and avoidance of emissions and waste.
BIW has pledged to operate in a 'Compliance-Plus' manner. BIW is committed to fully complying with federal, state and local environmental, health & safety laws, and will go beyond those laws when it makes good business sense. Click here for a summary of BIW's environmental performance during 2007.
It is our stated intention that every employee of BIW should leave work each day in the same condition they arrived in. Furthermore, it is our intent to be a good neighbor in our community and to take steps necessary to protect our natural environment.
For more information, contact:
BIW Environmental, Health & Safety Dept: 207.442.1635
Or E-Mail us at: biwenvironmental@gdbiw.com
Read our Environmental Handbook here.
Environmental Protection
BIW's Environmental, Health & Safety Policy is a commitment to prevent pollution. BIW has incorporated pollution prevention measures into its everyday business practices.
We have always been a leader in pollution prevention. We started in the 1930s by establishing a metal recycling program, rare at the time. Now we constantly apply cutting edge technology to solve problems. BIW makes every reasonable effort to prevent pollution, and to continually improve its processes to reduce its environmental footprint.
BIW practices several established methods of minimizing pollution:
Product Substitution
Technology Improvement
Best Management Practices
BIW's programs cover Control of Air Quality, Control of Water Quality and Solid Waste Management. Read more about them by following the links below.
Our Efforts Are Noticed
Our achievements are not hot air. Year after year, we receive accolades for our efforts to make a difference in protecting the environment.
Here are some of the most recent:
Governor's Environmental Award
We've won this award six times since the year 2000. See details here.
EPA Partnership Recognition
We won this prestigious award in 2003 and 2004.
Close Cooperation With Regulatory Bodies
BIW's Environmental, Health & Safety policy states that we will comply with EHS regulations and continuously improve our processes to reduce injuries, illness, and prevent pollution. Part of our strategy for achieving these commitments is to form partnerships with regulatory agencies to work in a variety of ways to improve environmental, health & safety performance with reduced regulatory burden. BIW believes that working with regulatory agencies can remove communication barriers so that breakthrough performance, on both sides, can be achieved.
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Environmental Leaders of Maine: Smart Growth through Smart Production (ELM) is a voluntary program established by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) offering recognition and incentives to businesses throughout the State that are interested in achieving environmental and sustainability goals. This is a program for organizations with a good compliance history and recognized as top-performers for environmental performance. BIW has entered into a partnership with the DEP based on a signed agreement outlining the performance commitments of BIW and the relationship between both parties. Performance is documented by tracking commitments and publishing an annual report.
BIW has set performance commitments in the following areas for the three-year participation period of this agreement:
- BIW will maintain ISO 14001 certification
- Mentor 3 Maine companies or organizations
- Reduce solid waste shipped off-site for disposal by 5% per equivalent ship
- Reduce hazardous waste shipped off-site for disposal by 5% per equivalent ship
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5%
US Environmental Protection Agency
BIW has been a National Performance Track Program member since 2005. Performance Track is a voluntary partnership program that recognizes and rewards private and public facilities that demonstrate strong environmental performance beyond current requirements. Performance Track is designed to recognize facilities that consistently meet their legal requirements and have implemented high-quality environmental management systems.
Performance Track encourages facilities to continuously improve their environmental performance and to work closely with their employees and community. Acceptance into the program is for a period of three years, after which a facility may reapply for membership. BIW has applied and has been accepted into the program for a second three year period (2008-2010).
As a member of this program BIW must have:
- An Environmental Management System in place and certified by an independent third party
- History of sustained compliance
- Demonstrated past environmental achievement and commitment to continuous environmental improvement, and
- Community outreach
Under the current agreement, BIW has committed to the following goals based on a 2007 baseline:
- Reduce non-hazardous waste generation by 5%
- Reduce hazardous waste generation by 5%
- Reduce total greenhouse gases by 5%
The reduction of greenhouse gases is considered a "Challenge Goal" as this goal represents a reduction for a regional environmental priority.
Each year, participating facilities are required to file an Annual Performance Report in which they demonstrate to EPA and the public their environmental accomplishments over the past year as well as their continued high level of environmental performance. To view BIW's Annual Performance Report (and all other member facility reports) please visit the EPA Performance Track website at:
www.epa.gov/performancetrack/members
This page allows you to search by state, facility name or region.
BIW was the first shipbuilding facility accepted into the program and joins 10 other Maine facilities participating in the Performance Track program.
We Partner With The Community
BIW's workers live in local communities, and they care personally about what we do to protect the environment. We've been active in a number of national and local programs, including:
Earth Day
We conduct several outreach events each year on Earth Day to highlight environmental awareness in our employees, families and community.
Ongoing Outreach: Environmental Bulletin
We publish an occasional e-mailed bulletin for the community on environmental progress at BIW. It will help keep you informed of progress, events, and environmental activities of interest that are happening here or within the community. If you'd like to receive a copy when it appears, please follow this link. Back issues are archived on the site in PDF format. You can find them here.
Certification
BIW is ISO 14001-certified and OHSAS 18001-compliant
for its comprehensive Environmental, Health & Safety Management System (EHSMS). BIW was the first private shipyard in the United States to have its Environmental, Health & Safety Management System be registered to ISO 14001 and be certified complaint with OHSAS 18001 / BS 8800.
ISO 14001 is an internationally accredited standard for environmental protection systems administered by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The International Standards Organization sets voluntary standards and guidelines for manufacturing and engineering organizations to help promote quality products and protection of the local environment. ISO 14001 specifies a framework of control for an Environmental Management System against which an organization can be certified by a third party.
OHSAS 18001 and BS 8800 are international occupational health and safety management system specifications. 
The standards are both intended to establish auditable standards for implementing, maintaining, and continually improving a Health and Safety Management System. OHSAS 18001 & BS 8800 are not currently accredited by ISO, but companies may seek third-party verification that they conform to the specifications.
Elements of BIW's EHSMS include an EHS policy, planning, operational controls, internal auditing, corrective action, continual improvement in EHS protection performance, and employee training and awareness. In order to maintain certification, the company is audited every six months to verify continued compliance with ISO 14001 standards.
Visiting The Yard
We want everyone who visits the BIW yard or other facilities to feel as safe as our own workers. Please remember that a large part of our working environment is an industrial facility. Shorts, short-sleeved shirts and teeshirts are all unsuitable wear. Follow all safety instructions and use common sense. When needed, proper personal protection equipment like hard hats, safety glasses and ear protection will be furnished.
Please make sure that you are wearing safety shoes that meet accepted industrial protection regulations. For specific guidance on standards and a list of stores, follow the link below.
