In celebration of Earth Month, we are highlighting employees who are champions of sustainability and help make every day Earth Day at Intel. We have a long-standing commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility that is made possible by harnessing the power of people and technology.
Very few ambitious ideas come to life without the immense time and energy of dedicated people. This certainty rings true when it comes to the amazing work of Irina Belozerova and Elizabeth Betancourt, who led the charge on a series of projects to save 216 million gallons of water per year. You heard that right: 216,000,000 gallons of water! But how did they do it and why did they take on such a huge job?
Irina (left) and Elizabeth (right)
In 2016, Irina and Elizabeth were both engineers in the Ultra-Pure Water group at Intel and saw first-hand the positive impact of reducing Intel’s water usage both for the company and the community. They are both passionate about sustainability and saw a great opportunity to bring that into their role. Irina and Elizabeth got together to propose a consolidated water conversation effort across Intel sites. They knew other employees were working on various water conversation projects but wanted to bring them together to share best practices and scale the most effective ideas and pilots. So that is exactly what they did. After getting the larger group together and evaluating all the project options, they decided to focus on nine projects within the water system operations and maintenance as well as reclaim and recycle systems. They implemented things like reducing rinse durations, optimizing flow-rates, and reclaiming more water for reuse to get to that ultimate savings of 216 million gallons of water per year.
But they are not done, the team is now reviewing what projects to pursue next to continue to increase the efficiency of Intel’s water usage. They are committed to the ongoing evaluation of Intel’s water usage and implementing what works across Intel sites. We want to send a huge thank you to Irina and Elizabeth for taking the lead and bringing together an awesome group of employees* committed to reducing, reusing, and recycling water and lowering Intel’s environmental impact.
You can make a difference too! Look for small ways to save water (and reduce your water bill!) like setting a timer for your shower or only washing full loads of laundry.
What will you do today to lower your environmental impact? Share what actions you’re taking to be more sustainable and celebrate Earth Day by using #EarthDayEveryDay on social media and follow us on Twitter @IntelInvolved to keep up with all of Intel’s corporate responsibility efforts.
*The full team who made this water conservation effort possible consisted of Irina Belozerova, Elizabeth Betancourt, Craig Christensen, Steve Scarbrough, Bradley Lawrence, Robert Kirwan, John Croft, Chelsea Tura, Erin Young, Rocio Sebhatu, Rollie Leeman, Alan Gannon, Martin Corrigan, John Flood, and Ian Dela Cruz.
Very few ambitious ideas come to life without the immense time and energy of dedicated people. This certainty rings true when it comes to the amazing work of Irina Belozerova and Elizabeth Betancourt, who led the charge on a series of projects to save 216 million gallons of water per year. You heard that right: 216,000,000 gallons of water! But how did they do it and why did they take on such a huge job?
Irina (left) and Elizabeth (right)In 2016, Irina and Elizabeth were both engineers in the Ultra-Pure Water group at Intel and saw first-hand the positive impact of reducing Intel’s water usage both for the company and the community. They are both passionate about sustainability and saw a great opportunity to bring that into their role. Irina and Elizabeth got together to propose a consolidated water conversation effort across Intel sites. They knew other employees were working on various water conversation projects but wanted to bring them together to share best practices and scale the most effective ideas and pilots. So that is exactly what they did. After getting the larger group together and evaluating all the project options, they decided to focus on nine projects within the water system operations and maintenance as well as reclaim and recycle systems. They implemented things like reducing rinse durations, optimizing flow-rates, and reclaiming more water for reuse to get to that ultimate savings of 216 million gallons of water per year.
But they are not done, the team is now reviewing what projects to pursue next to continue to increase the efficiency of Intel’s water usage. They are committed to the ongoing evaluation of Intel’s water usage and implementing what works across Intel sites. We want to send a huge thank you to Irina and Elizabeth for taking the lead and bringing together an awesome group of employees* committed to reducing, reusing, and recycling water and lowering Intel’s environmental impact.
You can make a difference too! Look for small ways to save water (and reduce your water bill!) like setting a timer for your shower or only washing full loads of laundry.
What will you do today to lower your environmental impact? Share what actions you’re taking to be more sustainable and celebrate Earth Day by using #EarthDayEveryDay on social media and follow us on Twitter @IntelInvolved to keep up with all of Intel’s corporate responsibility efforts.
*The full team who made this water conservation effort possible consisted of Irina Belozerova, Elizabeth Betancourt, Craig Christensen, Steve Scarbrough, Bradley Lawrence, Robert Kirwan, John Croft, Chelsea Tura, Erin Young, Rocio Sebhatu, Rollie Leeman, Alan Gannon, Martin Corrigan, John Flood, and Ian Dela Cruz.
Sydney is a creative strategist, producer, and master storyteller at Intel. She capturing stories of impact, sustainability, and amazing people across the company.