Environmental Excellence from the Toothbrush and Tissue in Your Ger the Numbers Get
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Discovery JULY 2011 THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF KOCH COMPANIES Environmental excellence From the toothbrush and tissue in your ger the numbers get. But it’s misleading lence (see pages 4-8) has not gone unno- bathroom to the fuel and safety features to only look at total emissions without ticed by environmental regulators. of your car, Koch companies help provide considering total output. “The U.S. Environmental Protection products that you – and millions of other “For example, a car company making a Agency has repeatedly complimented us people around the world – depend upon. million cars a year will produce more on our ability to set a good example for en- Seat belts, airbags, dashboards and tires emissions than a company making a vironmental performance,” Mahoney said. are all made from Koch products. The thousand cars. But which has the higher In 2000, a senior EPA official during the same is true for the world’s best camping total of emissions per car? Clinton administration praised Koch gear and high-fashion garments. “If you’re concerned about the environ- Petroleum Group’s agreement to reduce President Obama took the oath of office ment,” Mahoney said, “efficiency needs to 60,000 tons of air pollution annually. standing on carpet fiber made by a Koch be taken into account. And Koch compa- “We appreciate the unprecedented coop- company. And the disposable coffee cups nies are among the world’s most efficient.” eration,” she said, “in stepping forward to used on Air Force One? You guessed it. Emissions per unit work with us to reach this innovative and And yet, instead of appreciating the comprehensive agreement. We hope that many Koch company products that make “When you start comparing emissions other companies will follow suit.” our lives better and the effort taken to per unit produced or processed, the envi- Last year, an Obama administration of- produce them in an environmentally ronmental story gets really meaningful.” ficial praised the willingness of Flint Hills efficient way, some critics try to mischar- According to an independent analysis, Resources’ Texas facilities to transition to acterize Koch’s actions. Pine Bend emits, on average, about half federally approved Clean Air Act permits. Reality Check as much per unit of output as highly regulated California refineries, less than Jim Mahoney is Koch Industries’ “Our goal is to continually executive vice president for operations one-third as much as U.S. refineries in reduce our footprint while excellence and compliance. As much as general, and only one-fourth as much as anyone, Mahoney knows what it takes to other Midwestern refineries. increasing productivity.” make great products. “We’ve got a very compelling story that “The process we agreed to with Flint Hills “You can’t manufacture quality products every Koch company employee can be Resources is an excellent one,” said EPA or provide excellent services without proud of. We are one of the cleanest and Region Six administrator Al Armendariz. consuming resources and creating emis- most efficient refiners in the world.” “It is our hope that the FHR process will sions of some kind,” Mahoney said. The goal of every Koch company, Ma- serve as a model for other companies.” “Because Koch Industries is one of the honey says, “is to continually reduce its “This isn’t a political calculation for us,” largest and most diverse companies in footprint while increasing its productiv- Mahoney said. “It’s a matter of being the America, and because we make so many ity. The only way to do that is by being as best operator possible and of never waver- things that consumers want and value, our efficient as possible, and by insisting on ing from our commitment to environ- companies inevitably produce emissions.” environmental excellence.” mental excellence. Mahoney knows that the bigger you are The success that Koch companies have “The expectations keep growing, so our and the more products you make, the big- had in achieving environmental excel- performance has to keep improving.” this issue… Environmental commitment in action pg 4 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pg 2 Environmental excellence since 1922 pg 7 Perspective: David H. Koch pg 8 Postal Pipeline Beautiful land, fantastic hunts, great food, and unmatched accomodations. That’s Matador Ranch. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Mooresville, N.C. Indulge yourself • www.WomensFocus.com • JULY 2011 KII’s $1 million donation toward relief efforts in Japan was divided A wildfire that burned 20,000 acres of the Matador Ranch evenly between the Salvation Army and American Red Cross. came within a few feet of its historic headquarters. The I work in a Koch office here in Japan. ranch donated $42,000 to local volunteer fire departments After speaking with the President of and other personnel for their help in battling the range fires. INVISTA Japan, I can confirm that all INVISTA and Koch Chemical We would like to express our greatest Technology Group employees are safe appreciation for your recent donation. [following a devastating earthquake and It is truly amazing to see the generosity of tsunami on March 11]. our fellow Texans and the response to this department following the recent fires. I very much appreciate Koch Industries’ Susan Addington & Liz Koch $1 million contribution for our Japanese We will continue to do our best to serve Fred & Mary Koch Foundation Bob Gress - Great Plains Nature Center tragedy and believe your heartfelt consider- Motley County and provide assistance YUM: In Her Shoes: ation will be very helpful for relief efforts. to our neighbors, just as they came in SUMMER DRINKS patrick goebel our time of need. In Tokyo, we are still having some incon- veniences with public transportation We thank you in the most sincere fashion July’s issue of Womens Focus magazine reviews and electrical power, but our working for your support. the Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation’s many conditions are fine. donations to environmental projects in Kansas. Matador Volunteer Fire Department It is available online at http://womensfocus.com. However, damage is huge and we will Matador, Texas need plenty of time to recover com- pletely. We are still very much concerned I want to thank Flint Hills Resources for How very generous you have been with about the nuclear power plant. its sponsorship of the Camp-In program at our school. I cannot say enough to the Science Museum of Minnesota. thank you. Our students are wiser for Once again, thank you for KII’s action. Masatsugu Fujishima Our school participated in the event April this opportunity. Penny O’Brien 7 and 8. It was a great time and our fourth- John Zink Co. Wyoming Elementary School and fifth-grade students, teachers and Tokyo, Japan Forest Lake, Minn. parent volunteers all enjoyed it. To “like” and follow Koch companies and leaders – For a small school that is six hours away including Georgia-Pacific, INVISTA, Flint Hills from the Twin Cities, this type of activity Resources, Matador Cattle Co. and Charles Koch – is usually impossible due to the cost and visit Koch Industries’ Facebook page. travel. Flint Hills was very, very generous! Letters and other submissions become the property of Koch Thank you again for this opportunity. Our Industries, Inc., and may be reproduced in whole or in part, kids will remember it the rest of their lives! including your name, for any purpose and in any manner. Dave Andrys Letters may be edited for length or clarity. Sacred Heart Elementary School East Grand Forks, Minn. Discovery July 2011 | Volume 17 | Number 3 Editorial board Questions? Comments? Philip Ellender Contact: Rod Learned Rich Fink 316.828.6136 We just returned from our Camp-In at Jeff Gentry [email protected] the Minnesota Science Museum. Every- The Science Museum of Minnesota’s popular Camp-In Dale Gibbens Greg Guest Publication design: thing was educational, top notch, and program, which serves thousands of students from across Mary Beth Jarvis Deanna Crockett above expectations – including the fe- the state, allows kids to spend the night in the museum. Charles Koch Amber Vogts Jim Mahoney Koch Creative Group male role models for our future scientists. To learn more, visit http://www.smm.org/campins Dave Robertson www.kochind.com ©2011, Koch Industries, Inc. Koch is an EOE. M/F/D/V 2 International News Paulínia - A Brazilian ad for LYCRA HyFit™ fiber. Poole - These Hamworthy dual fuel burners were designed for the Odebei - A Hamworthy multi-point ground flare array. Hamworthy When used in diapers, it provides a better fit. main propulsion boilers on liquefied natural gas carriers. Combustion is now part of Koch Chemical Technology Group. Brazil – Ever since it opened in 1974, and Paulínia are sold throughout South The company’s primary office in the U.K. INVISTA’s Paulínia plant has done a America, but are especially important in includes an Advanced Technology Cen- great job of safely and efficiently produc- Brazil, where INVISTA is a leader in the tre that is one of the largest combustion ing specialized textile fibers, especially textile industry. test facilities in the world. LYCRA® spandex. According to the Brazilian Association Hamworthy also maintains offices in That site is now preparing for the most of Producers of Artificial and Synthetic Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Dubai, significant expansion in its history: the Fibers, INVISTA and its peers produce France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Nether- construction of an all-new, LYCRA® fiber about 370,000 metric tons of artificial lands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, South production plant. fiber per year, contributing more than Korea and the United States. The $100 million facility is expected to $1 billion in annual revenues to Brazil. Jim Goodman, president of John Zink, be up and running by the end of next year.