West Chester, PA (April 02, 2024)— Environmental Business Journal® (EBJ) and Climate Change Business Journal® (CCBJ), published since 1988 by Environmental Business International, Inc., are business research publications that provide strategic market intelligence, focused on the environmental and climate change industries. EBJ has honored Weston Solutions, Inc. (Weston) with three awards: 1) Business Achievement: Large Firm; 2) New Practice: Abandoned Well Plugging; and 3) Information Technology: Secure, web-enabled distributed decision model for large, complex PFAS Remedial Investigation. CCBJ has also honored Weston with two awards: 1) Business Model Innovation: Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience; and 2) Project Merit: Low-Carbon Energy.
Weston was recognized by EBJ for a Business Achievement Award as a Large Firm after shattering revenue records in 2023 with an 87% increase in gross revenue and a 74% net revenue jump over 2022. Weston surpassed initial targets, reaching more than $1.7 billion in sales, a testament to the dedicated leadership team, strategic vision, and exemplified by two major project wins in Puerto Rico. Weston aided in the island’s energy transition and resilience by designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining critical temporary LNG energy generation facilities at two locations. These temporary generators are allowing facilities and grid improvements without interrupting power on the island. Weston’s commitment to diverse energy solutions goes beyond traditional fuel sources. The company also invested significantly in the e-mobility market in 2022. This focus yielded strategic wins in 2023 with the execution of three design-build task orders for USACE to provide EV charging infrastructure at multiple locations across the United States. This year, Weston hired over 20 new staff members to support its growth in delivery of these energy and resilience services.
Weston expertise in well plugging and abandonment was also recognized by EBJ for a New Practice Award. This award acknowledges Weston’s innovative approach to addressing orphaned and marginal wells, a critical issue for communities historically impacted by oil and gas production. Funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reduce methane emissions has spurred a renewed focus on environmental risks posed by orphaned wells that are not properly closed. Weston has supported various well remediation projects for the U.S. EPA since 2003 and has recently been assisting other agencies such as the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. By plugging these wells, Weston minimizes methane emissions and preserves groundwater quality. Led by a team of regulatory experts in navigating complex regulations and funding opportunities, Weston grew its client base in 2023, supporting over 100 well plugging, abandonment, and well site assessment projects with the capacity to support additional clients. As Weston expands its portfolio in the assessment and decommissioning process, the firm continues to focus on efficiently providing the data needed to optimize plugging and reclamation work with a nationwide reach.
Lastly, Weston was recognized by EBJ for an Information Technology Award for the application of its data visualization and decision-making tools on a multi-site PFAS Remedial Investigation across a large AF base. Weston’s team implemented a novel data management framework using enterprise geospatial techniques to expedite a CERCLA PFAS Remedial Investigation at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, NJ. Faced with the challenge of characterizing multiple media across 21 sites amid varying Regional Screening Levels, Weston’s project team developed a method for making informed decisions using near-real-time data from field operations and historical data. To address this, Weston implemented a centralized, spatially enabled data platform accessible through a secure interactive geospatial web viewer. The platform empowered stakeholders with (1) real-time mobile data collection record through map-based applications, efficiently streamlining field operations and capturing accurate data instantly (2) one-click access to soil boring logs eliminating the chance for possible error, and (3) a dynamic analytical search tool providing decision-makers access to all analytical results and plume distributions across sites to identify optimum locations for expanded well networks. Weston has adapted previous capabilities for this scalable framework and uses it on all projects, driving efficiency and high levels client engagement, savings and satisfaction.
In addition to the three 2023 EBJ Awards, Weston also won a 2023 CCBJ Award for Business Model Innovation: Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience. Weston provided services to the Navajo Nation, which faces longstanding constraints associated with the impact of widespread uranium mining on clean water access. In the Navajo Nation, a staggering 30% of residents lack access to piped water, relying on hauling their own potable water for daily needs. Since 2020, Weston has been committed to addressing this challenge through its Water Access Mission (WAM). WAM focuses on planning and implementing solutions to bring clean water and build resilience within these communities. To date, Weston has distributed 32,000 water containers, 564,000 disinfection tablets, and over 6,200,000 gallons of clean water. The project has three phases: increasing self-haul water points for short-term access, expanding home water delivery, and increasing residential waterline connections for long-term solutions. The program’s success resulted in a follow-on contract through 2025 and a Water Hauling Coordination Services contract by the Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority in October 2023.
Weston prioritizes community empowerment. By partnering with Navajo-owned business and nonprofits such Dinetahdoo Cultural Resource Management, a Navajo-woman-owned small business, and the Navajo-led nonprofits DigDeep and Collective Medicines, they are creating jobs, fostering small business, and developing local expertise in delivery equipment certification and testing processes to expand and improve water delivery.
Weston’s expertise in solar development on environmentally impaired properties earned them a CCBJ Project Merit award for Low-Carbon Energy. Weston partnered with a global renewable energy company to develop, permit, and construct the largest solar facility in the US on a former Superfund Site in New Jersey. This high-profile project, which also enhances habitats for threatened and endangered species, includes a 28-MW grid-tied merchant system and a 2-MW net-metered system that powers an onsite groundwater treatment system. Weston performed site due diligence, environmental and state and local permitting, civil engineering, construction management, and permit compliance the solar facility. The team navigated through the complexities associated with regulatory and utility requirements, ensuring stakeholder alignment from planning through construction and operation. This year, the project reached another major milestone with the completion of a 5-MW community solar project, bringing clean energy directly to underserved residents in the community at a reduced rate from current energy costs.
The 2023 EBJ & CCBJ awards will be presented live and in-person at the EBJ Business Achievement Awards banquet at Environmental Industry Summit XXII on April 2-4, 2024 in San Diego, along with Lifetime Achievement Award for career achievements by individuals.
About Weston Solutions
Weston Solutions is a U.S.-based, 100% employee-owned environmental and infrastructure services firm committed to safety and delivering client value on every assignment. For over 65 years, we have solved our clients’ most difficult challenges while making a difference in the communities we serve.
About EBJ and CCBJ
Environmental Business Journal has been published since 1988 by Environmental Business International Inc., an independent research and publishing company focused on the environmental and climate change industries.
Climate Change Business Journal has been published since 2008 by Environmental Business International Inc., an independent research and publishing company focused on the environmental and climate change industries. EBI has published Environmental Business Journal since 1988.
Environmental Business Journal® provides strategic market intelligence to executives and investors in 13 business segments of the environmental industry including environmental consulting & engineering, remediation & industrial services, water & wastewater equipment, air quality & pollution control equipment, hazardous waste management, resource recovery, solid waste management, water/wastewater infrastructure, renewable energy and environmental instrumentation & information systems.
Climate Change Business Journal® (CCB)J is a subscription-based business research publication, serves as the centerpiece of business intelligence providing detailed market research on nine segments of the Climate Change Industry, including renewable energy, carbon capture & storage, adaptation & resilience, energy efficiency and green buildings.