SHPE - Winter 2008 - (Page 30) CAREERS & EMPLOYMENT ment facilities. “The demand for engineers is critical to Amtrak’s operation, with a heavy focus on engineers with a general understanding and awareness of environmental issues and environmental safety,” said Marshall. The company values experienced team members knowledgeable in mitigating environmental challenges and researching and developing innovative solutions. “Having engineers who understand sustainability issues is very helpful in order to successfully move forward with new initiatives,” explained Roy Deitchman, vice president of Amtrak’s EHS. Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), the nation’s largest municipally owned gas utility, provides gas service to half a million customers within the city of Philadelphia and maintains a distribution system of 6,000 miles of gas mains and services. PGW values engineers with green backgrounds. The company’s green initiatives are aligned with both the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City’s green campaigns, said Michael Jones, P.E., director of PGW’s Technical Compliance group. PGW’s peak shaving LNG liquefaction and vaporization processes are state-of-the art, using natural gas pipeline pressure rather than the burning of fossil fuels with their consequent emissions to power the processes. To complement Pennsylvania’s alternative fuels initiative, a significant part of PGW’s fleet is powered by natural gas. The utility is pushing the conversion of existing oil burning home heating services to natural gas. Clean burning natural gas is also marketed to commercial and industrial sectors as emissions reducing fuel. Natural gas also cools and offers an alternative to electricity use. “We promote the use of our product to better the environment in the long term,” said Michael Handwerk, vice president of Technical Compliance and an environmental scientist. In addition to its wide-reaching recycling program, PGW is also involved in nationwide and local green programs, including the Local Action Plan for Climate Change, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. As part of the municipality, PGW is tasked to help reduce gas emissions by 12 percent by 2010. PGW’s environmental initiatives require various efforts throughout the company, including their marketing department. The green engineering work involved in the initiatives are typically incorporated into PGW’s engineers’ title and responsibilities, Jones stated. As green projects demand more attention, engineers with a green background and knowledge are being looked upon “very favorably,” according to Jones. “It’s definitely a plus to have a forwardlooking approach to what we’re doing,” added Handwerk. While Constellation Energy has been providing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar for years, this forwardlooking company is pursuing new initiatives. The emerging opportunity created by global recognition of global warming and the carbon market, however, has made sustainability a business opportunity, explained Mark Huston, co-president of Constellation Energy’s Customer Supply 30 SHPE R Winter 2008 http://bge.com http://bge.com
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