Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP) recognized the contributions of area businesses and organizations at the 25th Annual Membership Meeting and Environmental Stewardship Awards presentation on September 25, 2025. In 2025, PEP also celebrated its 25th anniversary – a quarter-century of championing environmental sustainability and responsible industry practices along the Gulf Coast. Since its founding, PEP has fostered collaboration between businesses, industries, and the community to drive meaningful environmental progress. The anniversary celebration culminated in “PEPtember,” held in conjunction with the annual awards banquet, where members and community leaders gathered to recognize the outstanding efforts of companies advancing environmental stewardship.
This year, PEP also introduced a new award, the PEP Sustainable Small Business Champion Award, to honor small businesses with core operations centered on sustainability. These member companies demonstrate innovation and measurable impact by helping their customers reduce energy and water consumption, minimize carbon emissions and waste, or achieve other key sustainability metrics. The inaugural award was presented to Smash My Trash, a small but mighty company transforming the waste hauling industry.
All awards were presented at PEP’s Annual Membership Meeting and Environmental Awards ceremony at The Renaissance Battle House Hotel. Members and guests enjoyed dinner, networking, and celebrating one another’s successes. The award video outlining each project’s impact can be viewed on PEP’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/@pep_mobile).
ArcelorMittal Calvert (AM/NS Calvert) has been recognized by Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP) with the prestigious Environmental Stewardship Award, celebrating the company’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and responsible resource management.
The award highlights ArcelorMittal Calvert’s (AM/NS Calvert) recent lighting retrofit project, which replaced more than 420 outdated fixtures with high-efficiency LED lighting across critical operational areas of the facility. The initiative improved safety and visibility while significantly reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.
This award underscores Arcelormittal Calvert’s (AM/NS Calvert) ongoing efforts to lead by example in the steel manufacturing industry, proving that sustainability and operational excellence can advance hand-in-hand.
For decades, the Aloe Bay shoreline has suffered from erosion and storm impacts. To address this, the Town of Dauphin Island chose Moffatt & Nichol and Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) to lead the work on the Aloe Bay Living Shorelines and Christopher Blankenship Ecotourism Area Projects. These initiatives combined coastal restoration with community recreation to protect vital infrastructure and bring new life to the island’s waterfront.
The restoration not only protects critical infrastructure—including the wastewater treatment plant, marina, and new Ladnier Landing Boat Ramp—but also supports long-term resilience.
At the same time, the Christopher Blankenship Ecotourism Area created new amenities for residents and visitors. Improvements included pervious paving and expanded parking on El Dorado Avenue, a modern restroom facility, and timber boardwalks with wildlife viewing areas.
These award-winning projects showcase what’s possible when environmental stewardship, infrastructure protection, and community engagement come together to shape a resilient future for Alabama’s coast.
Outokumpu Stainless USA, recognized globally for their leadership in sustainability and environmental stewardship, has always made a commitment to improving the air quality when it comes to its stainless steel making process. At its Calvert, Alabama mill, team members spent the past year looking for ways to improve the consumption of soft lime, which would reduce the overall CO₂ impact on the environment.
The steel industry relies heavily on lime in the melting process, which contributes significantly to CO₂ emissions. Outokumpu’s Melt Shop team trialed straight limestone in the Electric Arc Furnace, bypassing the processing step that produces soft lime. This innovation reduced CO₂ emissions, improved efficiency, and generated operational savings.
The Soft Lime Replacement Project is a clear example of how innovation in industrial processes can reduce environmental impact, improve efficiency, and demonstrate leadership in sustainability.
Ransom Solutions has received a 2025 Environmental Stewardship Award from Partners for Environmental Progress for its pioneering programs that combine workforce development with environmental sustainability.
Through Road2Work and Ransom Recycling, the organization offers job training and hands-on experience for individuals overcoming homelessness, addiction, and incarceration, while delivering tangible environmental benefits. Their key partner in the Road2Work program is the City of Mobile, where participants engage in litter collection and beautification projects, improving the city’s appearance and instilling structure, accountability, and purpose.
Ransom Solutions’ award-winning approach proves that investing in people and the planet creates measurable outcomes for communities, individuals, and the environment.
Tate & Lyle McIntosh has been recognized with a PEP Environmental Stewardship Award for its proactive initiative to remove PFAS-containing AFFF from its McIntosh facility.
During a facility upgrade, the team decided to replace the existing fire protection system, which used 3% AFFF, with a non-fluorinated alternative, rather than simply expanding the old system. Approximately 8,000 gallons of PFAS-containing foam were safely disposed of via high-temperature incineration, eliminating the potential for future contamination.
This project removed an estimated 16.7 pounds of PFAS, enough to contaminate over 500 billion gallons of water above the EPA’s 2024 drinking water threshold. The initiative demonstrates Tate & Lyle’s leadership in environmental stewardship, risk reduction, and proactive sustainability planning.
Tate & Lyle McIntosh continues to prioritize minimizing environmental impact across operations, addressing climate change, water scarcity, and responsible waste management. The PFAS removal project stands as a model of proactive environmental leadership and community responsibility.
Smash My Trash has been recognized with the Sustainable Small Business Champion Award from Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP).
Smash My Trash is revolutionizing the waste hauling industry by compacting trash in dumpsters onsite, significantly reducing the number of hauls needed and lowering environmental impacts. Traditional waste hauling often transports partially empty dumpsters, resulting in unnecessary trips, higher costs, and increased emissions.
This award highlights how small businesses can make measurable contributions to environmental stewardship, proving that innovative operations and community impact go hand in hand. Smash My Trash continues to set a standard for sustainable waste management while helping clients save money and protecting the planet.
Each year, the PEP Board of Directors honors a Community Partner, an entity or an individual that has truly impacted Coastal Alabama’s sustainability and resiliency. PEP recently presented Roberta Swann with the 2025 Community Partner Award. As Director of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program since 2009, Roberta has spearheaded a visionary, community-based approach to watershed management and environmental restoration. Her efforts have engaged over 300 stakeholders and resulted in comprehensive plans for every watershed in coastal Alabama. Roberta has been the catalyst behind transformational projects in Three Mile Creek, Fowl River, Joe’s Branch, Mon Louis Island and the D’Olive Watershed.
Before joining the Mobile Bay NEP, Roberta worked with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab to establish its foundation and led a successful campaign to protect migratory bird habitats through the Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuaries.This beautiful bird sanctuary continues today in service of long-term environmental stewardship.
Roberta Swann exemplifies the qualities of a visionary leader. Her strategic and collaborative work along with her deep commitment to environmental sustainability has not only transformed Alabama’s coastal landscape but also inspired a culture of stewardship that will benefit generations to come.
For her tireless dedication to Coastal Alabama’s sustainability and resiliency, we are proud to honor Roberta with the Partners for Environmental Progress 2025 Community Partner Award.
PEP is calculating the total greenhouse gas reductions due to the projects selected for the 2025 Environmental Stewardship Awards. These award-winning projects combined resulted in a decrease of 618,263 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions last year. According to EPA calculations, this is equivalent to taking 144,213 cars off the road each year, which is 37% of passenger vehicles registered in Mobile County!
Read more about PEP’s Environmental Stewardship Awards. You can also learn more about the award criteria and application process for 2026. Visit the PEP YouTube channel to watch videos highlighting each award-winning project.