Awarding Sustainability

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Sweet Auburn in Context

Atlanta E3 Awards handed out by Metro Atlanta Chamber

By INtown Staff

Entering its eighth year, the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Atlanta E3 Awards recognize companies, organizations and individuals for outstanding achievement in advancing clean tech and best-in-class sustainability practices in the marketplace.

The 2020 winners will be highlighted in a 2021 series of events called “Greenlight on Sustainability” to take a deeper dive into the stories of the winners.

“This year’s Atlanta E3 winners represent the very best of the cutting-edge companies advancing what sustainability means for metro Atlanta’s businesses and their communities,” said Katie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “We are thrilled to showcase their impact in the region and in their respective industries.”

2020 Atlanta E3 Awards Winners

Genuine Parts Company

Genuine Parts Company, as a leading distributor of auto and industrial replacement parts, office products and electric materials, has made great strides in making their logistics and supply chain more sustainable. Through fleet management and route optimization, they have reduced their fleet by 500 vehicles as well as recycled 20 tons of tires. In 2019, they reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by over 4,000 metric tons and their fuel consumption by over half a million gallons.

Atlanta Hawks/State Farm Arena

The Atlanta Hawks show a strong commitment to sustainability through the retrofitting of State Farm Arena to be the first NBA Arena awarded LEED Certification for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance, as well as through their community engagement work throughout Metro Atlanta. The arena is on a journey to become a Zero Waste facility, Continued on page 24

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Bike the Beltline: Atlanta Bicycle Barn 151 Sampson St., NE Atlanta, GA 30312 www.atlbikebarn.com their partnership with vendors to focus on supply chain, recycling, composting, and waste management has been significant on the way to reaching that goal. One recent success is the team store eliminating single-use plastic bags for merchandise, and now using paper bags made from recycled cardboard. During the pandemic, the Hawks partnered with Goodr to provide meals to food-insecure populations such as seniors and low-income students dependent on school meals, and to frontline healthcare workers. Earlier this summer, the organization partnered with Fulton County to create Georgia’s largest-ever voting precinct at State Farm Arena.

Georgia Power

Georgia Power and the Georgia Power Foundation demonstrates environmental stewardship in many ways, through programs for stream bank restoration in their rightof-way, responsible water management and research in their power plants, investments in improving air quality and more. Last year, the Georgia Power Foundation created the Water Quality Grant Program, which awarded $1 million in grants this year to nine projects across the state. The grants will help fund projects which are focused on preserving and restoring Georgia’s waterways, lakes and rivers.

Kendeda Building – Georgia Tech

The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design is, for the moment, a one-ofkind building in the Southeast. It is a multi-disciplinary, non-departmental education building that is pursuing the Living Building Challenge – the world’s most ambitious building performance standard – which aligns with Georgia Tech’s longstanding vision for its campus to serve as a research center for innovation. Rather than being less bad than conventional buildings, The Kendeda Building is regenerative; it gives back more than it takes from the environment. For example, the building incorporates a substantial amount of salvaged materials, is designed to generate more onsite solar electricity each year than it consumes, has a rainwater-to-potable water treatment system, and treats human bio-waste onsite without a connection to the sewer.

For more information about the 2020 E3 Awards, visit atlantae3awards.com.

Eco Briefs

The Greenbuild International Conference + Expo will be held virtually Nov. 10-12 featuring more than 100 sessions, networking, and guest speakers. The architect of the Paris Climate Agreement, Christiana Figueres, will be one of the keynote speakers at this year’s event. For more details, visit greenbuildexpo.com.

The 2020 Sustainable Summit for fashion industry insiders and leaders will be the place to discuss how to fashion businesses can work to maintain the integrity of and build a more earth-friendly industry. Led by Quinay Baker, founder of Q&A Fabric Studio, a sustainability business, the conference will give attendees information and connections to create and find sustainable business models. The event is set for Nov. 14 at The Gathering Spot, 384 Northyards Blvd. where vendors will sell sustainable products and services from garments to books. Events will be available for in-person and virtual viewing for registered attendees and media. At the close of the summit, a few of the city’s fashion designers will showcase their sustainable designs in a runway show. Tickets are available via Eventbrite by searching for 2020 Sustainable Summit.

The Georgia Water Coalition has released its Clean 13 report for 2020, which highlights individuals, businesses, industries, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies whose efforts have led to cleaner rivers. Honored this year were Chattahoochee RiverLands, Emory University, Fall-Line Alliance for a Clean Environment, Georgia Farmers, Golden Triangle RC&D Council, Se. William Ligon, Live Thrive Atlanta, Okefenokee Swamp Park, Parsley’s Catering, Se. Freddie Powell Sims, SouthWings, YKK AP America, Yonah Mountain Vineyards. To read about each of the honorees’ contributions, visit gawater.org/ clean-13.

Arnold Bread has partnered with SeedMoney, a Maine-based nonprofit that provides grants, crowdfunding opportunities and training to food garden projects across the country and around the world, to provide a $5,000 grant to Collegetown Farm, Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture in Atlanta. After being hand selected for this grant, Collegetown Farm, which impacts over 2,000 locals, chose to utilize the additional funding to better the garden by supporting the community during the pandemic.

The Georgia Conservancy’s Board of Trustees has appointed Katherine Moore as the new -president of the organization. Moore, who currently serves as the Georgia Conservancy’s Vice President of Programs and Director of Sustainable Growth, succeeds Bart Gobeil in the role. Moore has worked in the community development and Katherine Moore environmental conservation fields for more than 20 years, including 12 years in the private sector as a planner and the past 11 years with the Georgia Conservancy.

Park Pride recently announced six recipients of the 2020 Inspiration Awards during the Parks and Greenspace Conference. This year’s winners include Sofia Bork, Annie Moore, George Ickes, Joe Peery, Dan Calvert, and Keith Sharp. To find out more about the winners, visit parkpride.org.

As part of its Week of Caring, Mercedes-Benz USA honored its Greatness Lives Here heroes for their sustainable leadership and lasting impact on those they serve by planting 18 trees in a commemorative ceremony along with partner organization Trees Atlanta. Engraved granite markers displaying each hero’s name and respective organization lay at the foot of each tree planted at the Georgia World Congress Center campus. The following individuals were recognized at the event: Tim and Becky O’Mara, Bearings Bike Shop; C.J. and Kelli Stewart, L.E.A.D.; Kim Bearden, The Ron Clark Academy; John Gordon, Friends of English Avenue; Charmaine Minniefield, The New Freedom Project; Scott Rigsby, The Scott Rigsby Foundation; Zack Leitz, The Backpack Project; Dantes Rameau, Atlanta Music Project; Zac Brown, Camp Southern Ground; Betty Klein, Childkind; Guenther Hecht and Joe Labriola, Second Helpings Atlanta; Dr. Diamond Ford, M. R. Hollis Innovation Academy; Larry Witherspoon and Shawn McHargue, Automotive Training Center; Maria Armstrong and Tangee Allen, Raising Expectations; Susan Norris, Rescuing Hope; Dean Leeper, The Kindezi Schools; Amy O’Dell, Jacob’s Ladder; Susan Jacobs-Meadows, Canine CellMates.