2008 Best Practice Award Winners Announced!
The 10th Annual Sustainable Florida Best Practice Awards were held June 9, 2008, in Tallahassee at the Florida State Universtiy Alumni Center. The crowd was great. The nominees even greater. And the winners were outstanding.
Click for the Invitation. Click for the Event Program. Press Release.
This year nine judges were involved in reading, reviewing and scoring the mor than 70 nominations. The judges included:
Bob Bullard, Member of the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida and former Highlands County Commissioner
Mary Beth Burton, Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions, Florida Atlantic University
Melanie Weaver Carr, Office of Planning, Florida Department of Transportation
Dr. Lynette Cardoch, Supervising Scientist for Sustainable Development with MWH Americas, Inc.
Karen Childress, Immediate Past Chair, Sustainable Florida
Albert Joerger, President, Sarasota Conservation Foundation and Member of the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board
Joe Kilsheimer, President, Joe Kilsheimer Consulting, Inc.
Bernadette Tavarajah, Consultant and former Waste/Recycling Manager for Publix.
Dave Tillis, Regional General Manager, Bonita Bay Group
The program featured a compelling keynote presentation by famed photographic artist Clyde Butcher who's black and white photographs explore his personal relationship with the environment.
He gave a challenging presentation with ideas about how we can become sustainable and protect one-of-a-kind resources such as the Everglades.
A reception sponsored by Sustainable Florida Partner Rayonier followed the awards program. Best Practice Award winners will be honored with a resolution from the Governor and Cabinet at a meeting later this summer.
The Best Practice Award Winners were:
Small Business - Rosas Farms
(Al and Erin Rosas) in Citra (near Ocala) – Organic cattle ranch and farming.
Large Business -
Valley Forge Fabrics in Pompano Beach – The world’s largest producer of decorative fabrics for the hospitality and gaming industries created FRESH – Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards (for) Hospitality – a line of fabrics made from recycled PET plastic bottles (think water bottles) and established reclamation process to facilitate the recycling of textiles.
Government - City of Tallahassee - With its Green Initiatives program, the City has a multi-faceted approach to sustainability from fleet management, utilities, construction, recycling and more - not just within government but into the community.
Non-Profit - TPC - Sawgrass - The world class golf and resort facility took several intergrated steps after an
environmental audit and review of business practices identified areas for improvement. These can be copied at other courses across Florida.
Partnership - Demolition of Building 10 by Jacobs and Lockheed Martin in Orlando - Deconstrcuted a building while saving money, reducing environmental impacts and diverting more than 17,000 TONS debris from a landfill.
Green Building - Spacecoast Architects in Indiatlantic - Designed a highly sustainable school that was built
half the average per-square foot price for a school - and uses 50% less energy than a typical school without adding any cost.
Leadership - Augusto "Gus" Casmayor with AC Graphics in Miami - The first triple-certified green printer in the state of Florida where the paper used is harvested, manufactured and used in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner. Additionally, the firm uses only vegetable-based inks – avoiding traditional petroleum-based products. Mr. Casamayor also conducts monthly seminars to teach organizations and businesses how to become sustainable.
Nominees
A record number of nominations were accepted this year. The following individals, organizations, companies, and inititiaves were nominated for a Best Practice Award. Finalists are indicated in bold type.
| 911 Cell Phone Bank |
| AC Graphics |
| Rosas Farms - Al & Erin Rosas |
| Bette S. Walker Discovery Garden |
| Breaking Ground Contracting |
| Cans 4 Kids Project - Jr. Auxiliary/Madison County Commission |
| Carlson Studio Architecture |
| Carlton Fields, PA - Go Green Initiative |
| Central Florida Community College |
| City of Coconut Creek - Green Culture |
| City of Miami - Sustainability Initiative |
| City of Tallahassee - Green Initiatives |
| City of Tallahassee - Solid Waste Green Building |
| City of Tampa - Clean City Day |
| Ed Rosenthal CEO/Florikan E.S.A. Corporation |
| Environmental Defense Fund |
| Gainesville Regional Utilities - Home Energy Makeover Contest |
| Gainesville Regional Utilities - Demand Side Management Programs |
| Green Guide Certification Program - Wakulla County & Tallahassee Community College |
| Greenride - Ecology and Environment |
| Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice |
| Hamilton Harbor Yacht Club - Collier Enterprises |
| Hillsborough County Waste-to-Energy Facility Expansion |
| Hydromatic Technologies |
| Hypower, Inc. |
| Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida Partnership - Peer Audit Program |
| Jacobs/Lockheed Martin - Building 10 Demolition & Recycling |
| JEA Environmental Sustainability Initiative |
| K2 Urbancorp LLC |
| Kraft Construction Co., Inc. |
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| Kraft Construction Co., Inc. |
| Lehigh Technologies |
| Louise Graham Regeneration Center |
| Navy Federal Credit Union |
| Oakland Park - Castle & Cooke Florida |
| Climate Change Initiative - Orange County and Mayor Richard Crotty |
| Progress Energy - Save the Watts |
| Republic Services, Inc. - Enhanced Shareholder Communications |
| Republic Services, Inc. - Green Building Project |
| Robert R. Solomon, Prattco, Inc. |
| Schroeder Manatee Ranch/Lakewood Ranch |
| SCOPE-Summit for Environmental Action |
| Shadow Wood Community Association |
| Southwest Florida Water Management District |
| Spacecoast Architects, P.A. |
| St. Johns River Water Management District - WaterStar |
| StarMetro, City of Tallahassee |
| Sustainable Tallahassee |
| Sustain-A-Bull - USF |
| Tampa Preparatory School Environment Club |
| The Kate Ireland Parkway Initiative |
| The Sugar Cane Paper Company |
| The Women's Alliance/Chapter 2 Clothing |
| TPC - Sawgrass |
| TransMobile Corporation |
| Trifecta |
| Union Credit Bank |
| Valley Forge Fabrics, Inc. |
| Walker Brands Office Building |
| Wal-Mart Stores Inc. |
| Waste Management Inc. of Florida |
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