Ventura Environmental Excellence Awards
In cooperation with The Ventura Chamber of Commerce Poinsettia Awards, the City of Ventura Environmental Services Office created the Environmental Excellence Award in 2003 as a means of providing recognition to projects, programs, businesses and organizations that exemplify environmental care, concern, initiative and improvement. Areas of consideration include Recycling, Waste Prevention and Reuse, Buying Recycled and Sharing Waste Prevention Information.
2007 Recipients:
2006 Recipients:
2006 Honorable Mention:
Allen Associates
Allen Associates specializes in commercial construction, green building, and new residential construction, additions, and remodels for the Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Valley, and Ventura County areas. The company does not simply build green they work green. The Ventura office was recently remodeled which transformed the interior space into energy efficient and healthy work environment through the use of eco-products, natural lighting, and second hand items. Allen Associates purchases all recycled content office products and non-toxic cleaning products, and also recycle all office products possible. They further reduce their waste by having dishware for use in their offices instead of paper and plastic disposables. Greater waste reduction is achieved through the recycling of construction waste in all of their projects. Allen Associates has developed a notable alternative transportation policy for a staff of 90. The policy was recently adopted which has led to 20% of employees using alternative travel methods. This policy not only offers a drawing for $100 monthly, it also provides incentives such as a financial contribution for hybrid of fuel-efficient vehicles to managers and directors. Allen Associates not only has taken the risk to develop a green building contracting business long before it was popular, they also have incorporated reduce, reuse, recycle into all of their business practices.
Agromin
Agromin specializes in processing, managing, recycling and marketing wood and green waste materials. It mulches and composts all of the City of Ventura's yard waste collected from residents and businesses at curbside and applies these materials to the citrus and avocado orchards on the Limoneira Ranch. This process creates a unique relationship between the residents of the City of Ventura, Agromin, and local agriculture. Applying composted yard waste on agricultural land helps farmers adopt organic and sustainable farming practices that reduce the use of pesticides, herbicides and water. Ultimately, this process provides a way for City residents to close the loop of recycling and keep yard waste out of landfills. Agromin's operations not only provide extensive benefits to the agriculture on Limonera Ranch, but also successfully divert all of the City of Ventura's yard waste from the landfill. Since its inception in 1990, Agromin has diverted over 1,000,000 tons of yard waste from our local landfills.
For more information on Agromin, please visit: www.agromin.com
Stewart+Brown
Stewart+Brown, a Front Street clothing design company founded and owned by Karen Stewart and Howard Brown, integrates quality, functionality, and environmental responsibility into high fashion apparel. Stewart+Brown uses organic cotton and factory surplus fabrics in many of their products, and is recognized internationally for making environmental and social responsibility a priority in their business. Stewart+Brown products have attracted a new constituency in the marketplace referred to by Wired Magazine as the "Neo-greens". These "Neo-greens" are wealthy suburbanites that fall somewhere between the hippies and the hip and love the environmental dedication that resonates in companies like Stewart+Brown. In addition to its environmentally conscious products, Stewart+Brown's Ventura design studio uses second hand furniture, utilizes natural lighting, donates scraps for local art projects such as Santa Barbara based Art from Scrap and avoids using paper catalogs. As a member of "1% for the planet", Stewart+Brown donates 1% of all sales to non-profit environmental organizations. Stewart+Brown has applied the idea of sustainability to all aspects of their business and in their words, they "aspire to inspire" others to do the same.
For more information on Stewart+Brown please visit: www.stewartbrown.com
Betty Belts
Betty Belts is a small, independent company, founded and owned by Donna Von Hoesslin, which designs and manufactures unique handmade belts, jewelry and other accessories. Betty Belts motto, "reduce, reuse, recycle and reinvent", is evident in all aspects of the business. Since its inception, Betty Belts has been working to implement sustainable practices into its operations. Owner Donna, uses farmed oyster shells, reuses packaging materials and utilizes unwanted shipping material from local businesses. In addition, Betty Belts catalogs are printed only when they are needed to avoid using excess paper. Betty Belts is a company that has a strong connection to nature and to the ocean and a strong desire to protect the earth and its inhabitants. Owner Donna recognizes that the way businesses operate really does have an impact on the environment and hopes that Betty Belts has a positive one.
For more information on Betty Belts please visit: www.bettybelts.com
The California Mushroom Farm, Inc.
The California Mushroom Farm, Inc. is a local mushroom grower located on Olivas Park Drive. The mushroom farm produces portabella mushrooms, brown/crimini mushrooms, and white mushrooms. Growing mushrooms is an intensive process and the California Mushroom Farm does an amazing job of reducing the amount of resources it consumes for its operations. For instance all of the soil and mushroom waste left over after the mushrooms are picked is used for compost, reducing the amount of material that is sent to the landfill by five tons. Also used in the compost is scrap gypsum board that the mushroom farm acquires from hardware stores and constructions sites. In addition to their efforts to reduce waste, the farm has also developed systems that reduce their water consumption. The farm stores water from leachate, boiler condensation, and rain gutters in a holding pond for later use. Recently, a reverse osmosis system was installed to reduce the amount of water and natural gas the farm would need to operate. The California Mushroom Farm continues to strive to come up with innovative ways to reduce its consumption of water and energy and minimize waste.
For more information on The California Mushroom Farm, please call: (805) 642-3253
