NASSCO Shipyard Setting Green Trends

Sustainability and innovation are part of the business model for General Dynamics NASSCO, the only full-service shipyard on the West Coast.

General Dynamics NASSCO is constantly striving to find new and better ways to improve air and water quality, prevent pollution and save energy. As a model for sustainable practices, NASSCO is a leader among full-service shipyards in environmental protection and preservation, said Hugo Bermudez, Environmental Engineering Specialist with General Dynamics NASSCO.

“Environmental stewardship has been a part of NASSCO’s everyday business practices for many years,” said Bermudez. “We are committed to implementing environmental technologies that not only benefit the community as a whole, but also help us improve the way we do business.”

General Dynamics NASSCO is one of more than 60 businesses along San Diego Bay that are participating in the Port of San Diego’s Green Business Challenge. The Green Business Challenge is a year-long program designed to promote ways that businesses are reducing energy consumption, water use, minimize waste and prevent pollution.

The Port of San Diego is a steward for San Diego Bay, managing its valuable social, economic and environmental assets. Today, San Diego is a thriving natural resource that supports our regional economy and enviable quality of life.

Here is how NASSCO is doing its part in eliminating emissions and efficiently treating waste.

• All stormwater runoff at NASSCO is captured and treated, preventing polluted water from being discharged into San Diego Bay.
• Enclosed blast and paint facilities capture 100% of emissions, preventing their release into the air.
• NASSCO uses an ion exchange water treatment system that use resins to remove selected metals from water.
• NASSCO’s recycling program has diverted more than 200 tons of recyclable material from the landfills.
• A lighting retrofit project replaced more than 5,000 fixtures in the shipyard with energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, resulting in a savings of three million kilowatt-hours per year. This is equivalent to the annual electricity usage of 250 homes.

In addition to sustainable practices, NASSCO encourages employee participation.

“We employ more than 3,200 people on our 100-acre waterfront facility, and we have significant energy (savings) requirements,” said Bermudez. “NASSCO hosts several community clean-up and restoration events every year and more than 1,000 of our employees use some form of public transportation to commute to work each day.”

The Port has a partnership with KGTV Channel 10 as part of its Sustain San Diego environmental program. In working with the Port of San Diego, Channel 10 news reporter Phoebe Chongchua is providing reports on milestones from the Green Business Challenge each month.

A complete list of all participants in the Green Business Challenge is available at Greenportchallenge.org.

Additional information on NASSCO can be found at NASSCO.com. More information about General Dynamics is available online at GD.com.