The Alliance is pleased to announce the winners of the 2011 Sustainability Showcase Awards!  Each year, the Showcase Awards recognize businesses and organizations in California who are leading the way towards a less energy intensive, low carbon future and provides a platform for the honorees to share their success stories and best practices.

This year’s award recipients (and award categories) are: Kilroy Realty Corporation (Commercial Buildings), First Community Housing (Multifamily Housing), the City of Riverside (Local Government), and Burbank Water and Power (Water Agency).  Cathedral City received an honorable mention in the local government category.

Each of the above organizations is dedicated to advancing sustainability goals internally and in the broader community.  In addition to achieving emissions reductions and water and energy savings, a number of these organizations have also realized significant economic savings. 

In the coming months, we will be posting online showcases featuring each of these organizations.  But in the meantime, we’d like to share with you a few of the best practices that make this year’s Showcase Award winners such leaders in their fields:

Winners:

• Kilroy Realty Corporation - Commercial Buildings

  Kilroy Realty Corporation—a Los Angeles based real estate investment trust with over 60 years of experience—is working to educate and implement sustainability throughout all aspects of real estate. Kilroy’s innovative collaboration between their lighting vendor and the nonprofit, The Rozalia Project, sponsored two weeks of Rozalia’s Summer Trash Tour which removed 1,758 pieces of trash from the ocean. Additionally, Kilroy Realty built the first LEED for Core and Shell building in San Diego and is currently developing the world’s first LEED for Neighborhood Development project.

• First Community Housing - Multifamily Housing

  First Community Housing (FCH), a California nonprofit located in San Jose, is focused on constructing and managing affordable housing for low-income residents in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company’s Murphy Ranch property in Morgan Hill features Energy Star appliances, LED lighting, low-flow water fixtures, recycled carpeting and innovative features including furniture made from wheat fiber and sunflower hulls, sustainably harvested hardwood floors, PV panels and free transit passes for all residents. FCH has also created a Sustainable Facilities Manager position to ensure that all the company’s buildings are maintained to green standards.

• City of Riverside - Local Government

  The City of Riverside has implemented multiple initiatives and programs across all City departments to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy, foster alternative fuel vehicle use, and improve water use efficiency. A few of the City’s notable best practices include the Grease-to-Gas anaerobic digestion, Riverside’s Green Action Plan (GAP), Cleaning Up Riverside’s Environmental Program (CURE), the City’s award winning Green Power Radio Show and Riverside’s Sustainability Workbook which is available online and provides hundreds of tips and ideas on how to go green.

• Burbank Water and Power - Water Agencies

  For nearly 100 years, Burbank Water and Power (BWP) has been providing the City of Burbank with safe and affordable water and electric services. BWP was the first utility in the nation to adopt a commitment to 33% renewable energy by 2020 and continually invests, researches and incorporates new innovative technologies in their sustainability efforts. The BWP Campus improvements include green roofs with rooftop gardens, which absorb 70% of rooftop rainfall; the remaining overflow is captured in underground storage tanks. The campus also features a solar carport that powers more than 100% of the building with the remaining power servicing the community.

Honorable Mention:

• Cathedral City - Local Government

  Cathedral City staff focus on environmental programs that promote energy efficiency, waste and water reduction, and greenhouse gas reduction. The City’s community-oriented approach to deliver customized solutions is inspiring, as shown through the SCRAP Gallery (Student Creative Recycling Art Project), where city youth use discarded materials from participating local governments to make sculptures and artwork that is displayed throughout the city. This project alone has diverted over 75,000 tons of waste from local landfills.

Along with the City of Santa Monica, we have released three new videos showcasing the City’s sustainability efforts. The videos were created to highlight some of the leadership qualities that led the City of Santa Monica to win the grand prize award for our 2009 California Sustainability Awards. 

The City of Santa Monica Leadership in Sustainability Videosfeature unique government practices in solar energy, farmers markets and urban forestry and include the following three videos:

• Net Zero Energy showcases Solar Santa Monica, a city agency serving as a “one-stop shop” for energy efficiency and solar energy information for local residents, businesses and municipal buildings since 2006. The agency provides free technical support to residents and businesses, which has resulted in more than 300 installations generating over 2.5 megawatts (MW) of electricity, moving Santa Monica toward its goal of becoming a net zero energy city.

• The Value of Trees spotlights the City of Santa Monica’s urban forestry management and explains how their trees are worth $138 million by their replacement value alone. When environmental benefits are also considered, the Santa Monica urban forest is worth $300 million. These benefits include valuable energy savings through shading, air filtration, reduction of stormwater runoff, carbon sequestration, and more.

• A Tale of Two Carrots features the City of Santa Monica’s Farmers Markets support of sustainable agriculture and local economic development through the voices of local residents, restaurateurs and school children. Eighty-five percent of residents and more than 80 local restaurants patronize the City’s four weekly farmers markets which keeps dollars in the local economy and offers residents an opportunity to obtain produce that uses less fuel for transport than produce from the grocery store.

While the nuances of sustainability efforts are often complex, the videos are presented in simple terms, and are designed to appeal to a wide audience by featuring compelling stories about local residents who are making sustainable choices in Santa Monica. Using a distinctive brand of film-making combining animation with live footage, the videos provide examples that will inspire viewers to make smart sustainable choices in their everyday lives.