Employee Spotlight: Clad Marshall on Responsible Water Management

As part of our commitment to sustainable operations, CF Industries prioritizes safe water management in its labs and production facilities. Clad Marshall, laboratory supervisor at the Donaldsonville Complex, expands on his nineteen-year career at CF and how his team fulfills our corporate ESG goals by prioritizing safe water management.

Tell us about your role. What does an average day look life for you?

I work as a laboratory supervisor, which means I’m responsible for overseeing day-to-day functions in the lab. On an average day, I come into the lab and work with my team of fifteen technicians to troubleshoot any issues with sampling or elsewhere throughout the plant. I act as the liaison to the operation superintendents or supervisors to communicate issues that may arise.

CF’s sustainability goals include ensuring sustainable management of water availability, use and discharge for all manufacturing operations. How have you prioritized this goal?

We put those sustainability goals at the front of our operations, so water is our main priority. We implement meticulous testing to keep up with our ESG goals and ensure sustainable management of water. Throughout the day, we monitor the water leaving our site and test two to three times daily to guarantee the water quality is safe enough for discharging.

What new or innovative ways is CF monitoring water quality?

We have an advanced 24-hour water monitoring policy that collects samples throughout the day and night. There are analyzers in place that will trigger any abnormalities as they arise, which makes it easier for our teams to address an issue immediately. Additionally, we recently put together a water team to help evaluate the water quality and discharge in our facility. Environmental health services, operations, superintendents, engineering and members of the lab meet to evaluate water and improve our control capabilities. This team is proactively managing our water monitoring and sustainability which keeps our operations accountable.

In your opinion, why is it important for CF to practice responsible water resource management?

Because our facility discharges water into the Mississippi River, we have a sense of responsibility to the neighboring communities to protect and sustain the water resource. The area relies heavily on the river as a source of water, so it’s especially important that our operations act respectfully and carefully to preserve the river.

Is there a trend in water management you’re keeping an eye on? Why?

There are many facilities using hydrogen from fossil fuels to create energy, so in Donaldsonville, we are in the early stages of developing a plant that will allow us to take the hydrogen from water and turn it into electricity. This process would allow us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, while also helping us to be a more sustainable plant ourselves without having to extract external energy and fuel sources. This is our own contribution to turning the production industry green. 

How do you and the Donaldsonville team contribute to CF’s clean energy mission?

It takes a big team to monitor the water coming in and going out of the site. Everyone at the plant has a sense of responsibility to uphold our water management standards. 

You’ve been with CF for 19 years. What excites you most about CF now and where it’s headed?

I’ve stayed with CF primarily because of the people I work with every day. My team and those that I interact with daily make the job easier and more enjoyable. The future of CF is especially exciting from the perspective of our fertilizer production. Fertilizer will always be a part of the cycle of life. We are always looking for innovative ways to improve our production and find new uses for fertilizer. We’ve always been able to evolve or adapt to the current situation in the world and use our products to be innovative market leaders.