BRYN MAWR, PA — Essential Utilities Inc. recently launched its second annual Essential Earth Day, a month-long celebration of volunteer events, donations and employee education opportunities across the company’s water and natural gas segments. The activities center around the company’s mission of protecting and providing Earth’s most essential resources and improving the communities it serves. They will run through the end of April.
The month-long initiative marks an important way for the company to recognize its third anniversary as a new breed of utility focused on water infrastructure renewal and smart energy delivery.
“Earth Day gives all of us at Essential an important moment to reflect on Our Purpose: providing clean, safe and reliable access to natural resources, sustaining the lives of people we serve. It’s appropriate that the holiday closely follows our company’s own anniversary,” said Essential Utilities Chairman and CEO Christopher H. Franklin.
“While we consider every day to be Earth Day at Essential, we now officially celebrate both this holiday and our anniversary the entire month of April company-wide.”
Volunteer Events
Employees will participate in at least 30 volunteer events across Essential’s footprint, in partnership with local environmental organizations. The activities include something for everyone: cleaning litter from streams; maintaining nature trails; and helping beautify public places through tree planting and gardening.
Charitable Contributions
The company will also contribute more than $450,000 in grants to support environmental causes, including litter cleanups, youth education programs, reforestation projects and other conservation efforts.
Planned Essential Earth Day 2023 highlights include:
- River and trail clean ups in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas and Illinois to protect waterways and natural areas, in partnership with nonprofits including: Darby Creek Valley Association, Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, Lacawac Sanctuary, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Wissahickon Trails, Shenango River Watchers, Triangle Land Conservancy, Massillon Area Greenways and Keep Austin Beautiful
- Planting events in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Kentucky and Texas with partners such as: Tree Pittsburgh, Chester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds Association, Western PA Outdoors for Heroes and Sustainable Berea
- Storm drain stenciling in Illinois and Pennsylvania to raise awareness to protect waterways from stormwater pollution
- Hosting the Lenape Challenge adventure race at Essential’s Green Lane Reservoir property to raise funds for the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy
- Donations to environmental causes including an award-winning Floating Classroom for environmental education, a tree planting grant program through the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, urban forest management at Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, a conference for land conservation professionals, and a “Water is Life” exhibit at the Philadelphia Zoo
- Employee education events including a lesson on climate change and its impact on regional environments from Natural Lands, a presentation on the clean water benefits of native freshwater mussels from the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and an in-person event on Sea Turtle conservation efforts at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
Essential Earth Day activities are part of Essential’s comprehensive commitment to the environment and the communities it serves. In 2022, the Essential Foundation donated $4.5 million to charitable initiatives that benefit health and human services, economic development, environmental causes, education and emergency services. Essential charitable giving also aims to support its diverse customer base and further goals of equity and inclusion.
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