PALO ALTO, — The environmental nonprofit Acterra announced the names of 13 San Francisco Bay Area organizations that will advance as finalists for a 2019 Business Environmental Award.
One of the area’s oldest and most prestigious recognition programs for sustainable business practices, Acterra’s Business Environmental Awards are presented annually to companies, nonprofits, or public agencies who have demonstrated exceptional environmental leadership or innovation. By championing effective practices that promote sustainability, the Business Environmental Awards program serves to accelerate the adoption of these initiatives throughout the broader community.
“Acterra is proud to showcase the impact of these transformative organizations which have proven that financial, environmental, and societal benefits can go hand in hand,” said Hillary Rupert, Acting Director of Business Partnerships for Sustainability at Acterra.
The Business Environmental Awards finalists recognized here will undergo individual site visits and further evaluation by a judging panel. The applicant organizations—which range in size from start-ups to multi-national firms—are classified as either small, medium, or large, and each class receives separate evaluation. The Awards will be conferred on May 22, 2019, in a ceremony to honor the award recipients at the Bay Area Metro Center in San Francisco. The ceremony begins at 5:30 pm. Tickets will go on sale on March 25, 2019.
The complete list of finalists (in alphabetical order) is as follows:
Acterra Award for Sustainability – the highest honor awarded
- Epicurean Group (Medium) – Los Altos
- Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. (Large) – Oakland
- World Centric (Small) – Petaluma
Environmental Innovation
- Aperia Technologies (Small) – Menlo Park
- ChargePoint (Medium) – Campbell
- DBL Partners (Small) – San Francisco
- Gridium (Small) – Menlo Park
Environmental Project
- East Bay Municipal Utility District (Large) – Oakland
- Pittsburg Unified School District (Medium) – Pittsburg
Spare the Air Leadership Award – sponsored by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District
- Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo & Marin, Inc. (Medium) – San Francisco
- Motiv Power Systems (Small) – Foster City
Sustainable Built Environment
- WRNS Studios – Intuit Marine Way Building – Mountain View
- WRNS Studios – Sonoma Academy’s Janet Durgin Guild & Commons – Santa Rosa
More about the finalists
Aperia Technologies is a provider of tire management solutions to enable data gathering and predictive capabilities for the heavy-duty trucking sector.
ChargePoint develops networked charging infrastructure and technology to support the broader adoption of zero emissions vehicles.
DBL Partners is a small venture capital firm that has pioneered a double-bottom-line approach to investing for impact at scale.
Epicurean Group is a food-service management company whose food waste reduction program is currently in use by more than 50 facilities in California.
Gridium creates cloud-based energy efficiency software for sustainable building management, providing smart analytics to both reduce energy use and streamline operations and maintenance.
East Bay Municipal Utility District’s Resource Recovery 2 Project uses anaerobic digestion to process high-strength wastewater in order to generate biogas and surplus renewable electricity.
Goodwill Electric Truck Project is a pilot program that has converted a subset of diesel trucks to zero-emission, all-electric trucks in order to lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. is a carbon-neutral engineering services firm that provides clients with sustainable design expertise in areas such as coastal resiliency, greenhouse gas reduction planning, and green building.
Motiv Power Systems has developed a versatile, customizable electric powered chassis which overcomes cost and logistical barriers to the wider deployment of all-electric trucks, school buses, shuttle buses, and other specialty fleet vehicles.
Pittsburg Unified School District has installed a bioswale project that assists in storm water retention, captures solar energy through new panel technologies, and is a focal point for educational experiences.
World Centric, a certified B Corporation, specializes in providing compostable food service products and engages in advocacy for the growth of composting infrastructure.
WRNS Studios – Intuit Marine Way Building is a LEED Platinum-certified workplace project featuring green roof, wetland bio-filtration areas, and other resource-efficient design strategies.
WRNS Studios – Sonoma Academy’s Janet Durgin Guild & Commons is a two-story, LEED Platinum, mixed-use learning facility that meets zero net energy targets as well as stringent International WELL Building benchmarks.
About Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet
Acterra is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Palo Alto that brings people together to create local solutions for a healthy planet. Acterra works locally to help people use cleaner power and reduce their carbon footprint at home, at work, on the road, and in the community. Acterra’s Business Partnerships for Sustainability Program recognizes San Francisco Bay Area organizations that are leaders in sustainability and creates mechanisms for organizations to learn from each other. For more information, visit acterra.org.
