Companies announce sustainability awards

Two companies were recognized by the Sustainable Tulsa Sc or 3 card program this month for efforts they made over the past year to improve their sustainability.

AAON Inc ., a manufacturer of heating and cooling products, announced it had achieved a Platinum certification for its efforts after earning a Gold in 2019 and Bronze certifications the two previous years.

To achieve a Platinum certification, a company must complete more than 85% of eligible directives, which include energy usage, healthy work environments, materials management, transportation, water usage, com muni ty stewardship and communications.

Officials said AAON expects to spend $73 million this year to improve its facilities to conserve energy and reduce waste through LED lighting upgrades and scheduled replacements of many of its HVAC systems with high-efficiency units.

“Environmental stewardship and sustainability are integral to our business strategies and corporate citizenship efforts,” stated Gary Fields, AAON's CEO.

Public Service Co. of Oklahoma also was honored by the program, achieving a Gold certification for a second year in a row.

PSO officials noted the Scor3card program sets a rigorous standard for sustainable activities that focus on engaging organizations around three areas of sustainability — people, profit and planet.

“At PSO, we take a holistic approach to sustainability that helps engage our employe es, while supporting economic growth and helping us become even better environmental ste wards ,” said Kerry Rowland, PSO's energy efficiency and consumer programs coordinator.

“Environmental stewardship and sustainability are integral to our business strategies and corporate citizenship efforts.”

Gary Fields, AAON's CEO