Program to improve biodiversity of 72-acre south Baltimore facility recognized among global leaders in environmental stewardship

A tawny-edged skipper in the pollinator garden at the BGE Spring Gardens natural gas facility.

BALTIMORE (Jan. 31, 2020) – A comprehensive program to improve the habitat for plants and animals at BGE's Spring Gardens natural gas facility has received a Silver Tier Conservation Certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC).

The certification recognizes BGE's efforts to maintain the urban forested shoreline of the 72-acre south Baltimore campus, which has been in continuous operation since 1855 and serves as the hub for hundreds of BGE employees. BGE removes invasive species, cleans windblown debris, and plants additional vegetation within the shoreline buffer. Two innovative trash collection devices trap and remove floating debris from the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River.

The Silver Tier certification for Spring Gardens is BGE's third and highest-tier WHC certification.

"I'm so proud of our continuous work to give wildlife a stronghold in BGE's own backyard," said Liz O'Connor, who oversees environmental management as vice president of support services at BGE. "Spring Gardens borders a vital ecological area of Baltimore City in critical need of protection. It's our responsibility to lead this conservation effort by example—to pursue proactive environmental initiatives that improve land, water, and air and ensure plants and animals have a place to thrive."

WHC's certification program, Conservation Certification®, is the only voluntary sustainability standard designed for broad-based biodiversity enhancement and conservation education activities on corporate landholdings. The standard recognizes meaningful wildlife habitat management and conservation education programs that take corporate sustainability goals and objectives and translate them into tangible and measurable on-the-ground actions. WHC Conservation Certification programs can be found in 48 U.S. states and 25 countries.

WHC established its certification tier system both to recognize levels of achievement and encourage improvement. Spring Gardens is already an Audubon-certified Bird-Friendly Habitat for its pollinator garden and was previously honored by WHC with a Wildlife at Work certification.

BGE's commitment to environmental stewardship is a core company pillar. BGE joined the Maryland Department of the Environment's Green Registry in 2018 and has been ISO 14001 certified since 2012. In 2019, BGE was named an Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for the ninth time. A total of 15 BGE locations across the company's service area are National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitats. BGE is also a three-time recipient of the National Arbor Day Foundation/National Association of State Foresters Tree Line USA national award for demonstrating practices that protect and enhance America's urban forests through quality tree care, worker training, tree planting, and public education.

More information about BGE's environmental initiatives is available at bge.com. 

###

BGE, founded in 1816 as the nation's first gas utility and headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland's largest natural gas and electric utility. The company's approximately 3,200 employees are committed to safe and reliable energy delivery to more than 1.3 million electric customers and more than 680,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. In the J.D. Power 2017, 2018, and 2019 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Studies ^SM  BGE was ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Business Electric Service in the East among Large Utilities. In the J.D. Power 2018 and 2019 Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Studies ^SM BGE was ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Business Natural Gas Service among utilities in the East Region. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (Nasdaq: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider. Connect with BGE on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and engage with the latest BGE stories on bgenow.com. 

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (or "BGE") received the highest score in the East Region of the 2019 Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study and the East Large Segment of the 2019 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study of gas and electric utility customer satisfaction among business customers. Visit jdpower.com/awards.