FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19, 2011
Contact: Shannon Parry 310.458.2227 shannon.parry@smgov.net Susy Borlido 310.458.8716 x2 Susy.borlido@sustainableworks.org
City of Santa Monica News 2011 Sustainable Quality Awards Recipients Announced Prestigious Environmental Current Event Awards Luncheon April 27th at Sheraton Santa Monica Hotel The Sustainable Quality Awards (SQA) is a successful collaboration between the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Sustainable Works and the City of Santa Monica. Celebrating its 16th year, the SQA honors organizations and businesses, large and small, private and nonprofit, located in Santa Monica or belonging to the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce. The growing group of Sustainable Quality Award winners demonstrates significant achievements in the areas of economic development, social responsibility, and stewardship of the natural environment above and beyond their primary mission. Dean Kubani, Director of the City’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment, commented that “These businesses engage in voluntary practices that generate less waste, conserve energy and water, and reduce traffic and pollution. Their above and beyond efforts improve quality of life for residents and workers and help build a strong local economy. Our hope is that we can promote a business climate where all businesses can achieve the level of commitment to sustainability these award winners demonstrate.” 2011 announces two SQA Grand Prize winners and four winners in the Excellence Category: PS#1 Elementary School SQA Grand Prize PS#1 Elementary School emphasizes an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to fostering the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to build a sustainable world for present and future generations. PS#1 incorporates environmental sustainability into all aspects of the institution
including curriculum, professional development, student life, physical operations, procurement, construction, and renovations. Students are taught through hands-on experiences in a sustainable environment as a basis to understand and form humanitarian behaviors. Green building features include a natural ventilation system, playing field consisting of artificial turf that requires no water, and energy efficient lighting systems throughout the campus. PS#1 created an on-line carpool map that displays where everyone in the community lives to facilitate car-pooling. This innovative application increased carpooling by 38%. After school day care is provided free of charge to all employees for their school-aged children. Health and Dental policies go above and beyond legal requirements and include dependants, spouses and significant others. The faculty is evaluated twice a year to focus on their feelings, concerns, and evaluation of communication and productivity. The Meaningful Faculty Evaluation Program seeks to support the school mission by sustaining organizational excellence, enhancing student learning, and improving faculty professional growth, based on the adage, “The rising tide lifts all boats.” LAcarGUY SQA Grand Prize LAcarGUY is the number one Hybrid dealer in the world and Toyota Santa Monica is the number one Prius dealership in the world. LAcarGUY sells a wide variety of car manufacturers and a range of car prices including Toyota, Lexus, VW, Audi, Porsche, Scion and Fisker. By providing such a wide range of vehicles, LAcarGUY is able to offer vehicles at varied price points that utilize different energy sources (gasoline, hybrid, electric). This diversity of selection lends itself to all economic conditions as well as all levels of customer choice. In November 2010, Senator Pavley’s office presented Toyota Santa Monica with the coveted Environmental Sustainability Award. They are the first automotive dealer in the U.S. to house the ClipperCreek “Level 2” SAE J-1772 EVSE chargers for the new plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. The chargers are being offered at no cost to all major automakers’ plug-in and hybrid vehicles in order to raise awareness of electric fuel vehicles provide the necessary infrastructure support and reduce “range anxiety.”LAcarGUY renovated their Lexus Santa Monica dealership for $15 million instead of tearing it down and starting over. By doing this, the company created quality jobs, conserved materials and energy, and added to the economic development of the city. In January 2011, a major LED lighting retrofit was executed at Lexus Santa Monica. Results include an 82% reduction in wattage use in the used car lot and an 80% reduction in the new car lot. They have a Green Newsletter which includes tips for employees on how to conserve energy in the office and at home. In all of its efforts, LAcarGUY strives to give back to the community. In 2010, employees volunteered at 15 events for a total of 650+ pro-bono hours! Gorman and Miller Excellence in Stewardship of the Environment Gorman & Miller is a sophisticated small business law practice, with an emphasis on commercial real estate transactions, commercial litigation, venture capital transactions, employment law, and franchising/distribution law. An active Green Team consisting of three employees participated in Sustainable Works Business Greening Program. Employee handbooks incorporate environmental policies. Gorman & Miller uses technology to gain efficiency for natural resources – and for clients. For example, in appropriate situations, they use a paperless online management system called the Closing Table® which enables clients to securely access transaction documents via Internet connection. In litigated matters, they can file and serve pleadings and other court documents electronically, reducing paper use, and saving mailing and
delivery costs. The paper stocked at Gorman & Miller is Forest Stewardship Council certified. Other supplies such as notepads and paper towels - contain 30-60% post-consumer content. To further reduce their ecological footprint, they eliminate individual bottles of water by refilling glassware and mugs are stocked in conference rooms. Lotus East-West Medical Center Excellence in Stewardship of the Environment Lotus East-West Medical Center is an environmentally friendly, holistic primary care center providing acupuncture, oriental and naturopathic medicine, medical and osteopathic doctors, along with other related services. They were the first holistic medical center to achieve Santa Monica Green Business Certification in 2007. Highlights of their green building renovation include zero-VOC paint, formaldehyde-free plyboo flooring, reclaimed furniture and recycled jip-board. Environmentally-preferred procurement ranges from organic hand soap, lotion and triclosan-free hand sanitizers, to 100% post-consumer supplies like paper towels and business cards. They use Eco-font for general printing which uses 20% less ink. Only non-toxic cleaning chemicals are stocked. They refill compostable bagasse cups with water from an onsite filtration unit installed in-house instead of purchasing bottled water. Unlike most medical facilities, they stock books on Edible Gardens and Ecological Design instead of conventional magazines. Lotus East-West office walls are decorated with paintings from local artists. MINARC Excellence in Economic Development MINARC is a Santa Monica-based design studio that specializes in modern, innovative and sustainable architecture. The company has three primary products and services: 1) mnmMOD: (AKA M3house) is a mass-customizable modular manufacturing system that delivers sustainable and affordable efficient design for the net-zero energy building market. 2)MINARC Architecture: Founded by Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdottir, Assoc. AIA, and Tryggvi Thorsteinsson, Assoc. AIA, MINARC’s projects range from new construction to renovations; residential and commercial. MINARC, a play on “minimalism in architecture”, focuses on emphasizing the relationship between architecture and nature and minimizing impact and waste through creative use of innovative materials. 3) MINARC also expands into the living environment with the creation of RUBBISH -a household sink made entirely from recycled rubber tires. MINARC practices sustainable architecture by letting the natural environment guide all aspects of a design and embrace the power of wind, sun and water. Their innovative use of materials such as cement panels, pebble stones and recycled tires gives new life to materials and manufacturers while minimizing impact on the environment. Schaffer’s Genuine Foods Excellence in Stewardship of the Environment Schaffer’s Genuine Foods provides Southern California with event catering services ranging from intimate dinners to large galas. Examples of their excellent Reduce and Recycle “close the loop” practices are: converting waste grease into biofuel via Further Products – who converts the by‐product of the biofuel, glycerin, into hand soaps, lotions and candles. Schaffer’s then buys back the glycerin products! They strive to send zero waste to landfills, currently diverting 80‐90% of waste amounting to nearly 15,000 pounds per year. They set up recycling and composting stations at all events – using only compostable food service containers (including paper straws and coffee stirrers) and utensils. By working with farmers, purveyors and suppliers, they work out strategies to limit the use of single use products. Schaffer’s Genuine Foods makes every effort to source all food and supplies locally. By creating menus that are seasonal, approximately 70% of the food served comes from within 200 miles of Los Angeles. Environmental responsibility is an integral part of Schaffer’s company policy – offering reduced prices for environmental, social and fundraising events.
Four out of the six Sustainable Quality Award Winners participated in the Sustainable Works Business Greening Program, including both Grand Prize Winners. One of the Excellence winners achieved Santa Monica Green Business Certification. The Business Greening Program is a FREE service for businesses located in Santa Monica and provides the SQAs with several strong candidates each year. Contact Sustainable Works at 310.458.8716 x6 for more information or visit www.sustainableworks.org. Winners will be honored at the Sustainable Quality Awards luncheon held at the Sheraton Santa Monica on April 27 from 11am-2pm. The theme for the 2011 SQA is sustainable food and includes a sustainable chef showcase during the reception hour from 11am to 12pm. Providing delectable bites are executive chefs Collin Crannell, The Lobster; Nicholas Schipp, Upper West; Alex Moreno, Border Grill; and chefs from Locanda del LAGO and Whole Foods Market. Each chef will be partnered with a local Santa Monica Farmer’s Market farmer to prepare the all-sustainable menu. Charlie and Kathleen Schaffer with Schaffer’s Genuine Foods and Octavio Sabado of the Sheraton Delfina will be preparing the sustainable luncheon menu. Evan Kleiman, host of Good Food on KCRW and chef/owner of Angeli Caffe on Melrose, is an active speaker on issues of food culture and sustainability, and will be giving the keynote address. Sarah Backhouse, nominated as one of the 50 current and emerging female leaders of the year by the Advance Women’s Leadership Summit and current anchor of The Planet 100 for Discovery’s Planet Green, will emcee the event. In addition to Kleiman and Backhouse, presenting the awards is former SQA winner and cochef/owner of Border Grill restaurants, Mary Sue Milliken, who will speak as a local about the importance of embracing sustainable practices as a business and a restaurateur. By recognizing local businesses that have thrived through the adoption of more sustainable practices, the Sustainable Quality Awards hope to inspire other companies and individuals to adopt their own environmental measures to help conserve our natural resources. Pre-paid tickets have early bird pricing until April 22nd, then are $60 for Chamber members and $65 for non-members. Please reserve tickets by calling 310.393.9825 or at www.smchamber.com/SQA. For more information on the Sustainable Quality Awards visit www.smsqa.com.