Delphi Thermal Engineer Receives Prestigious U.S. EPA Award
10 September 1997
Delphi Thermal Engineer Receives Prestigious U.S. EPA Award
LOCKPORT, N.Y., Sept. 10 -- At a September 14 ceremony in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, James Baker of Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems will
receive a prestigious award from the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (U.S. EPA) in recognition of his leadership in protecting the Earth's
protective ozone layer. EPA is using the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of
the signing of the landmark "Montreal Protocol" agreement to recognize
extraordinary achievements in environmental protection with its Best-of-the-
Best Stratospheric Ozone Protection Awards.
Baker co-chaired the team that developed the technology to recycle mobile
air-conditioning refrigerants. He is being recognized for providing technical
guidance to develop and validate the concept of recycling refrigerant on-site
at dealerships, which provided a model for other industries. The recycling of
refrigerants is practical and environmentally sound. The ability to recycle
and reuse CFC-12 at service facilities has dramatically reduced CFC emissions
and extended the CFC-12 refrigerant supply, avoiding most of the economic
impact on the consumer during the transition to non-ozone-depleting HFC-134a
refrigerant for motor vehicle air-conditioning systems.
Baker is an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the
International Standards Organization. He also serves on the United Nations
Environment Programme Technical Options Committee for Refrigeration, Air
Conditioning and Heat Pumps. This committee provides state-of-the-art
technical assessment of all industries that use refrigerants and recommends
changes to minimize the use of ozone-depleting refrigerants.
"We at Delphi Thermal are very proud of the EPA's recognition of Jim's
leadership, motivation and technical contributions in global environmental
protection," said Ronald M. Pirtle, Delphi Thermal general manager and General
Motors vice president. "Jim's continuous effort in the area of
mobile air-conditioning refrigerants demonstrates his commitment to our
organization's leadership in thermal management systems."
EPA has selected Best-of-the-Best winners whose accomplishments have
resulted in significant environmental improvements through leadership,
motivation and technical innovation. Only past winners of EPA's Annual
Stratospheric Protection Awards are eligible to compete for the Best-of-the-
Best Awards. The awards are dedicated to recognizing excellence in protecting
the Earth's protective stratospheric ozone shield. The 70 individuals are
from around the world, and are being recognized for their environmental
stewardship.
Best-of-the-Best Awards will be presented at a special ceremony during a
gala dinner to celebrate the Montreal Protocol's 10th Anniversary.
Delphi Automotive Systems, with headquarters in Troy, Mich., USA, is the
world's largest and most diversified supplier of automotive components and
systems. Delphi operates 198 manufacturing facilities, 46 ventures and 17
technical centers in 35 countries. Regional headquarters are located in
Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo. Delphi can now be found on the Internet at
http://www.delphiauto.com.
SOURCE Delphi Automotive Systems
