Washington, DC—The Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise Awards 2011 held on June 16, 2011 at the top of PNC Place, were successfully presented to five deserving chambers and communities around the country. Read More to find out the winners.
Presented by The Institute for Sustainable Development’s, Partners for Livable Communities, and the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Green Plus Awards honored five communities and chambers for their community-based innovation in sustainable economic development. Awardees of the first ever Green Plus chamber and communities awards are:
· The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
· Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce
· Cleveland, OH
· Savannah, GA
· North Myrtle Beach, SC
Facilitated by Green Plus’ Chris Carmody, the community awards recognize the great work of: Cleveland, Ohio, and its Sustainable Cleveland 2019, a ten-year, community-wide sustainable development planning process, as well as North Myrtle Beach and its public-private initiative North Strand Coastal Wind Team .
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce received the Leadership in Sustainable Economic Development award for its attraction of over $1 billion in investment from Volkswagen to connect sustainability efforts between the community and the company, while the Green Plus Chamber of the Year Award for Leadership in Member Sustainability was awarded to the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce for its Gatlinburg Goes Green! program which provides educational opportunities to its members around reduction of environmental impact. Lastly, Savannah, GA, which was unable to be present at the ceremony, received the award in the mid-size city category for Thrive, which engages municipal employees and the broader community to reduce green house gas emissions.
The ceremony saw opening remarks by Partners’ Board Chairman and President of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, Richard C.D. Fleming, who discussed the work of Partners and its involvement in the Green Plus Awards. The event was held at PNC Place, the District’s first LEED Platinum-Certified building, on the 12th floor with 360 views of the monument and capitol. Attendees were able to explore the magnificent green roof, and the similarly breathtaking views. The ceremony skillfully honored the hard work of these five chambers and communities who came from around the country to the heart of the nation’s capitol.
Attendees of the Green Plus Awards ranged from such public officials as the Mayor of Salt Lake City, UT, representatives of the U.S. Senate and House, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), national business leaders, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC), and more.
Following the Awards announcements, recipients of the Awards served on a dynamic panel to discuss their work within the context of a local, regional, and national framework of sustainability. Each chamber or community described succinctly their work at a local level, discussing its implications for success on a larger scale, while referencing the support of cross-sector city and state municipalities, and individuals, which abetted the growth of their work. From their mention of local successes, the panelists discussed the cooperation needed on a national level specifically the nation’s two major political parties.
Read prime coverage of the Green Plus Awards was written by:
The Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire,
Times Free Press in Chattanooga, TN, and
SC Now of Myrtle Beach, SC