says.“Athome,wecompost leavesand
recycle.Iwantmy sons tounderstand
how important it is to takecareof and
preserve our natural resources.”
Each year,United’s environmental
program,Eco-Skies,awards a total of
$50,000 toorganizations thatprotect
or enhance the environment.Woods
has nominated a few organizations
for these grants, and themoney has
been used for projects to eradicate
invasiveplant species and rehabilitate
bee colonies.
Woods believes he has hit his
stride with the environmental work
he’sdoing—acallinghemaynothave
found if an old friend hadn’t sug-
gestedhe takeapart-time job loading
bags andpushingbackplanes on the
ramp at Dulles for one of United’s
regional partner airlines.Oneday,he
bumped into a co-worker in adiffer-
ent divisionwho was looking for an
emergency responsemanager.
A trained firefighter and emer-
gencymedical technician,Woodshad
done extensive emergency response
work during his time working at
a local fire department. He had
experience liaising with emergency
responders, theOccupational Safety
andHealthAdministration, and the
Environmental Protection Agency,
and, looking for a new challenge,
he accepted.
His next move was to the safety
department at aUnitedExpresspart-
ner,and from therehe joinedUnited’s
environmental group.
“Safety and environmental com-
pliance go hand in hand,”Woods
explains. “Take our aircraft ramp
debris checks, for example.When
employees pickupdebris, it not only
prevents injuries to employees and
aircraft damage, but we’re alsomak-
ing sure that debris doesn’t make it
into the environment.”
Aswithmanyofhis fellowemploy-
ees, itdidn’t take long forChris toget
hooked on the airline industry.
“It’s been one of the best experi-
ences of my life, being part of what
it takes tomake an airline work,”he
says. “I’m still in awe of what our
teams accomplish every day, and
that’swhy I like it somuch.”
C
hrisWoods is overseeing some
big changes atUnited,but you’re
not likely to notice them on board
an aircraft or at an airport. As an
Environmental Compliance senior
manager atUnited,hedealsmostly in
waste andhow tominimize,manage,
and eliminate it.
“We’re trying to divert asmuch as
we can from landfills,”Woods says.
“We’re a huge company, so the little
things add up. Everything makes
a difference.”
Employees at his office, atWash-
ingtonDulles InternationalAirport,
may not even notice some of those
small changes.
“If you walk into an office, you
won’t see a trash can,”Woods says.
“Instead you’ll find a recycling con-
tainer.The trash can for municipal
waste is in the break room.Wewant
people to think about all the things
we absentmindedly throw away that
can actually be recycled.”
At Dulles,Woods spearheaded a
project to significantly reduce the
number of times waste containers
were emptied,or “tipped.”Thanks to
new trash compactors,the containers
atUnited’s newmaintenancehangar
at Dulles are tipped once every five
weeks.Prior to the installationof the
compactors,thathappenedevery two
to three days.
“Thisprojecthasbeen so successful
that we’re working on rolling it out
to other airports, too,”Woods says.
He’s particularly proud of the
compliance network he and his team
built and maintain. It’s made up of
current employees whomanage local
environmentalprograms inaddition to
theirprimary job responsibilities.The
employeevolunteers regularlyprovide
feedback to the environmental team
and share their ideas for eco-friendly
improvements.Putting that power in
thehandsof employees ispartofwhat
has made United’s environmental
program so successful, according to
Chris—whoencourages similarprac-
tices at home and inhis community.
“MysonsandIregularlydocommu-
nity serviceprojects like roadside trash
pick-ups andwatershedcleanups,”he
voices
FlytheEco-FriendlySkies
ChrisWoodshelpsUnitedachieve its environmental goals
BYRACHELAYRES
16
DECEMBER2015
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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
