Ninety people attended the Business Council of Fairfield County”™s first Stamford 2030 District Awards event in Stamford recently where the energy-, water- and transportation-themed awards were appropriately made of recycled material.
Andrea Pinabell, vice president for sustainability and global citizenship at Stamford-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the event host, opened the ceremony by saying, “We”™re proud to be a founding member of Stamford 2030, which is one of the 2030 Districts forming across North America that works toward reducing our energy, water footprints, transportation emissions, reducing our community”™s environmental impact and improve our resiliency.
- From left, Joe McGee, vice president for public policy, The Business Council of Fairfield County; Don Strait, Connecticut Fund for the Environment; Scott Raasch, Forstone Capital; Brandon Hall, Forstone Capital; and Megan Saunders, The Stamford 2030 District.
“Public-private partnerships with likeminded companies and organizations like the Stamford 2030 District will help make our goals a reality,” she said. “It also encourages cooperation toward our collective goals, the sharing of best practices and celebrating our collective accomplishments.”
The Innovation in Energy Award went to the Landis Group at 400 Atlantic St. The award was presented by Ron Araujo, manager of energy efficiency at provider Eversource, and accepted by Tom Izzo, senior real estate manager at the Landis Group.
The Innovation in Water Award went to the Mill River Park Collaborative for the restoration of the river. The award was presented by Hank Ashforth, executive vice president of the Ashforth Co., and accepted by Milton Puryear, executive director of the Mill River Park Collaborative.
The Innovation in Technology Award went to the J.M. Wright Technical School for its living wall project. The award was presented by Starwood”™s Pinabell and accepted by Coach Lauren Stabile and four of her students: Anthony Rizzi, Rubi Simon, Jessica Anderson and Walter Ginter.
The Innovation in Transportation Award went to both the city of Stamford and to People Friendly Stamford for the Sharrow network. The award was presented by Caroline Vary, managing director of the Connecticut Office of Jonathan Rose Cos., and accepted by Mani Poola, traffic engineer with the city of Stamford, and Emily Provonsha, Meg Dalton and Ron Morse of People Friendly Stamford.
An honorable mention was given to Forstone Capital for its work with the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy program at 9 W. Broad St. The award was presented by Megan Saunders, executive director of Stamford 2030, and accepted by Brandon P. Hall, principal, and Scott Raasch, director of business development, at Forstone Capital. The West Broad Street property has seen net cost savings per year of $17,464, owing to energy upgrades and utility incentives.
The awards themselves were fabricated from recycled glass. Connecticut Green Bank in Rocky Hill runs the C-PACE program.
