In 2023, Ashland continues to demonstrate a commitment to biodiversity conservation and nature-based solutions. 

• Efforts across Ashland’s Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) program portfolio received recognition with the achievement of Gold certifications at each of our seven certified sites as of 2023. 
  
  
• In addition, WHC featured the former landfill in NJ as a Member Success Story, highlighting the accomplishments of the habitat and species programs as well as the benefits of a partnership with Rutgers University.
  
  
• Two programs were also recognized at the 2023 Conservation Conference for project awards. A former landfill in GA and the Research Center in DE were selected as finalists for the Reptiles & Amphibians and the Bats project awards, respectively.
  
  
• The Remediation project at the Research Center won the project award as the highest scoring remediation project that demonstrated direct ecological benefit and biodiversity impact. 

These achievements demonstrate Ashland’s commitment to combining conservation and corporate sustainability goals with remediation efforts.

2023 plant site activities

plant site wildlife habitats

plant site certifications

The following highlights several of our current and past projects:

10 years of Changzhou Greenland Preservation

In 2005, Ashland started a preservation effort of 20,000 square meters (about 5 acres) of lawn in Changzhou, China. After 10 years, this lawn has become a park of dense trees. Recently, Ashland celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Greenland preservation efforts in Changzhou, a token to continue its commitment to an eco-friendly environment.

partnering on projects with Wildlife Habitat Council for more than 20 years

Partnering with the Delaware Center for Horticulture and the University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, more than 50 Wilmington, Del., employees participated in a two-day event to create a wildlife habitat at the Wilmington office location. The project involved almost a year of planning and preparation. Employees planted more than 160 plants and trees, and work is ongoing as the site strives to achieve certification through the WHC’s Corporate Wildlife Habitat Certification/International Accreditation Program.

remediation sites receive certification

In 2014, four former Ashland remediation sites achieved certification through the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), a nonprofit, non-lobbying organization dedicated to increasing the quality and amount of wildlife habitat on corporate, private and public lands.

Sites that achieved certification were: the Wilmington Research Center Landfill in Wilmington, Del.; the Vertac site in Jacksonville, Ark.; the Brunswick site in Brunswick, Ga.; and the Old York Road Landfill in Burlington, N.J.

Employees at Ashland are working closely with Rutgers University to provide educational opportunities to students in the sciences to track species diversity and life cycles at the Old York Landfill in Burlington, N.J. Ashland has also worked with the Delaware Center for Horticulture to establish the employee wildlife habitat planting area at the Wilmington campus.