Sustainable Florida Announces Award Finalists

GOVERNMENT

City of Tallahassee – Get There Green

In an 18-square-mile area of Tallahassee, pedestrians, bicyclists and mass transit riders rule the road. That's because of Tallahassee's "Get There Green" initiative, a holistic transportation program that addresses multi-modal transportation and efficient/convenient transit services while reducing greenhouse gases.

Tallahassee

Darren E. Fancher, P.E.,

Darren Fancher has gone above and beyond in transforming statute into policy. An engineer with the state's Department of Management Services, Mr. Fancher is an established leader in reducing the state's energy consumption. He authored administrative rules and state energy management plans, both of which aim to reduce energy consumption and energy costs in state-owned buildings across Florida.

Tallahassee

Leon County and Leon County Extension

When it comes to Extension facilities, this one gets its green from the plants and the building. In Leon County, the Extension service building is being transformed into a Green Demonstration Center. Currently, a 40,000-gallon rain water cistern captures rainwater from the roof and stores it until needed by the demonstration gardens. The cistern is projected to reduce the use of potable water for irrigation on site by at least 80 percent or 400,000 gallons annually.

Tallahassee

GREEN BUILDING

Carlson Studio: New Facility for the Cancer Support Community

Carlson Studio Architecture designed a cancer-support center in Sarasota that is environmentally healthy and friendly for those with a compromised immune system. The 11,000-square-foot building is constructed of eco-friendly materials – there are no harmful chemicals in the paint, wood, concrete, adhesives, or flooring.

Sarasota

On Top of the World Communities

Years ago, Kenneth Colen, an Ocala-based builder and developer, made a commitment to build only energy-efficient homes. Since 2000, his company has built and sold more than 975 Energy Star Homes in a development called On Top of the World Communities.

Ocala

Steve Sadler and Michaela Miller

In August 2008, Tropical Storm Fay ripped through Jacksonville and destroyed the home of Steve Sadler and Michaela Miller. The couple rebuilt – but not in an ordinary way. Their home is now one of the most energy-efficient in Florida and is a popular stop for environmental tour groups and building professionals.

Jacksonville

LARGE BUSINESS

ClosetMaid, an Emerson Company

In 2007, the city of Ocala met with ClosetMaid, a local company that builds wire, laminate and wood storage systems for homes across the globe. Today, the company has become a model of water conservation. It recycles waste, uses recycled content in its manufacturing process and offers customers LEED credit options for their buildings.

Ocala

Rosen Hotels & Resorts

This Orlando-based hotel chain went "green" before it became trendy. A leader in green initiatives, founder Harris Rosen hopes his hotels become an example for other businesses. Since 2006, the following projects were implemented: re-lamping hotel rooms and public areas, installing water-saving devices, recycling used cooking oil, implementing an energy management system and requiring property-wide recycling. All associates are trained in energy-saving practices.

Orlando

Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando is dedicated to creating a more sustainable company, community and state. Its "Green is Universal" campaign focuses on water, energy, waste, horticulture and fuels. The theme park saves about 35 million gallons of water annually by using low-flow urinals; saves energy by reducing wattage in parking garage lamps; uses a wood chipper to chip landscape waste to reuse as mulch; has 2,000 recycling bins throughout the resort; reuses coffee grounds in its planting soil; uses natural pesticides like peanut, wintergreen, thyme and fish oils; and landscaping teams drive electric carts.

Orlando

LEADERSHIP

Clean the World, Inc.,

Clean the World recycles soap and saves lives. The Orlando-based non-profit collects gently used bar soap and bottled amenity products that are routinely thrown away by hotels and resorts. These products are sanitized and packaged for distribution to those in need in more than 40 countries.

Orlando

Michael Madfis

Michael Madfis, an architect for 30 years and now an urban farmer, is slowly losing his eyesight to a retinal degenerative disease. But his work to help the community continues. Mr. Madfis helps establish organic community gardens that cultivate fresh, local food sources, create jobs and educate others about the benefits of urban farming.

Fort Lauderdale

Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority

The Peace River, once spring-fed, now loses water to underground caverns. In its pursuit of an environmentally sustainable regional water supply, the Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority harvests flood waters off its prized river and stores it for time of drought. It has undertaken environmental restoration at a scale not previously seen.

Bradenton

NON-PROFIT

Allison Samowitz and Jillian Samowitz

Twins Allison and Jillian Samowitz looked around their small town of Golden Beach in South Florida and worried about its future. They decided to do something to preserve its beauty. The sisters started a non-profit called Proseed2Green to drum up enthusiasm for taking care of their community.

Golden Beach

Baptist Health South Florida

Baptist Health South Florida, the largest not-for-profit health care system and the largest private employer in South Florida, opened its first LEED-certified acute-care hospital in Miami-Dade County this past April. West Kendall Baptist Hospital embraces six environmentally friendly initiatives: waste management and recycling, energy, communications and education, information technology, procurement and construction.

Coral Gables

The Mustard Seed of Central Florida

About 30 million mattresses are discarded in the United States each year. Most end up in landfills, where it can take nearly 100 years for them to decompose. However, about 85 percent of a mattress or box spring can be broken down and recycled – if someone is willing to do it. To date, The Mustard Seed of Central Florida, a non-profit charity based in Orlando, has recycled more than 3,500 mattresses, saved 80,500 cubic feet of landfill space and created jobs.

Orlando

PARTNERSHIP

Leon County and Leon County Extension

When it comes to Extension facilities, this one gets its green from the plants and the building. In Leon County, the Extension service building is being transformed into a Green Demonstration Center. Currently, a 40,000-gallon rain water cistern captures rainwater from the roof and stores it until needed by the demonstration gardens.

Tallahassee

Miami Corporation, Volusia County, and Brevard County

In southeast Volusia and northern Brevard counties sits a 59,000-acre tract called Farmton Tree Farm. It includes a critical regional wildlife corridor with environmentally significant habitat. The Miami Corporation, which has owned the parcel for more than 80 years, partnered with Volusia and Brevard counties to create a vision for this area. With nearly 80 percent of the land permanently preserved as conservation, a 50-year plan for the Farmton Tree Farm includes a sustainable, low-impact, mixed-use, green community.

Chicago, Illinois; DeLand, Florida; and Viera, Florida

Palm Beach County and Florida Power & Light Company

Every flush in Palm Beach County might be helping to power someone's air conditioning. That's because Palm Beach County and Florida Power & Light teamed up on an innovative project billed as the state's largest single use of reclaimed water that incorporates sustainable development principles. The project saves more than 8 billion gallons of groundwater annually that would have been be used to generate electricity.

West Palm Beach and Juno Beach

SMALL BUSINESS

LocalShops1.com

Whenever Ester Venouziou's parents visited from out of town, they often dined at chain restaurants and shopped at department stores around her Tampa Bay area home. As a way to support local businesses, Ms. Venouziou put together a list of locally owned shops for them to patronize. By August 2008, the list had evolved into LocalShops1.com, a grassroots movement to promote local, independent businesses in the Tampa Bay area.

Gulfport

Michael Madfis

Michael Madfis, an architect for 30 years and now an urban farmer, is slowly losing his eyesight to a retinal degenerative disease. But his work to help the community continues. Mr. Madfis helps establish organic community gardens that cultivate fresh, local food sources, create jobs and educate others about the benefits of urban farming.

Fort Lauderdale

TEAM BG – BG Dealer Services "Go Green Programs"

TEAM BG – BG Dealer Services of Tallahassee helps maximize vehicle performance through a line of products that promote cleaner air, reduce oil consumption and shrink the carbon footprint. The company has been a distributor of BG products for two decades, specializing in fuel, lubricants and engine performance.

Tallahassee