Filipinos have often shown the world that all things are attainable through ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance. In the field of environmental management where business profitability often runs in conflict with environmental protection, Engr. Editha M. Ardiente’s extraordinary qualities shine through.

     Even as she graduated magna cum laude and valedictorian with a degree in chemical engineering, Engr. Ardiente was initially employed as a secretary in an engineering firm in Chicago upon her arrival in the United States. From her hard work and perseverance, she rose to the position of an engineering analyst three years later, and became senior chemical engineer shortly after that. By 1979, she became the Section Chief of the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency’s Waste Management Division, managing a staff of approximately 70 people. Armed with a master’s degree in environmental engineering, she accepted an offer to work for the private sector as manager of environmental affairs of Borg-Warner Corporation in 1986. A year after, she took on the position of Vice President of Environmental Affairs of International Truck and Engine Corporation (ITEC), and has remained with the company since then.

     ITEC is a $7 billion, Fortune 200 company with 16,000 employees and a market leader in the manufacture of heavy and medium trucks, school buses and smokeless diesel engines. Under Engr. Ardiente’s leadership, ITEC has received over 70 environmental awards from US, Canadian and Mexican governments, and industry environmental organizations since 1992. The company boasts of having saved $75 million on pollution prevention activities and has obtained international certification under the ISO-14001 Environmental Management System Standard.

     Engr. Ardiente’s reputation in environmental affairs has been recognized by the Institute of Technology’s Stuart Graduate School of Business where she serves as Chair of the Environmental Management Program and member of the Board of Overseers. She reached one of the pinnacles of her career when she was elected President of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) in 2005. AWMA is a 97-year old association of about 9,000 environmental professionals with operations in 65 countries, including the Philippines. For her consistent record in environmental protection, Engr. Ardiente received the Perry Fisher Award from the Air and Waste Management Association in 2002, and the Milestone Award from the Asian American Institute in April 2004.

     An active Filipino community leader as well, Engr. Ardiente was a former president of the Philippine Engineers and Scientists Organization (PESO) in 1986 and was the first woman to have ever held the position in said organization. Her term marked the creation of a PESO student chapter and a fund to initiate technology transfer to the Philippines. PESO conducts an annual review for engineers and scientists to help them pass board examinations. The organization also gives out scholarships to deserving children of PESO members as well as to one outstanding high school graduate from the Philippines, every year. For her outstanding and dedicated service, she was given recognition by PESO on several occasions.

     In 1993, Engr. Ardiente responded to the call of the United Nations and the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Transfer of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) program. She served as TOKTEN consultant to the University of the Philippines National Engineering Center and consulted for Rightpak International, a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation. Engr. Ardiente also visited Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority in Olongapo City to review some of the environmental issues associated with converting the former US naval base into a commercial area.

     In conferring the Pamana ng Pilipino Award to Engr. Editha M. Ardiente, the President extols her exemplary achievements as an environmental manager who advocates balance between industrial progress and environmental protection, and her successful leadership of an international association of environmental professionals, the Air and Waste Management Association.