Awardees’ Commitment Moves District Closer to Achieving Sustainable DC Goals
(WASHINGTON, DC) December 15, 2016 – In a ceremony Tuesday night at the Embassy of Finland, Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) Director, Tommy Wells presented the 2016 District Sustainability Awards to recognize outstanding achievements and leadership in sustainability. The honorees support the goals of the District’s sustainability plan, Sustainable DC, in areas such as energy and water conservation, renewable energy production, healthy food access, stormwater management, green jobs development, and sustainable waste management.
Since taking office, the Bowser Administration has made significant progress in working to meet the District's sustainability goals and the results are evident: the District is first in the country for per capita LEED and ENERGY STAR certified square footage among large cities, first in the nation in per capita green roof square footage, and is a national leader in biking, walking, and transit commute rates.
“We know cities need to take bold action in order to lower our greenhouse gas emissions nationally. It’s also clear that leadership from local governments and the private sector will be critical to increasing resilience and mitigating the effects of climate change,” said DOEE Director Tommy Wells. “This year’s District of Columbia Sustainability Award winners illustrate how private sector partners are working with local government to test innovative concepts and integrate sustainability into everyday operations. They are true leaders in making the District a greener, healthier, more livable city.”
This year, DOEE added two new categories: the People’s Choice Award and the PowerDown DC Award. The People’s Choice Award category was open to the public to cast their votes for most sustainable entity from a ballot of nominees. The PowerDown DC Award goes to the buildings with the greatest reductions of energy and water usage within the PowerDown DC Challenge.
The 2016 winners are:
- Atlas Brew Works: District Sustainability Award
- Compost Cab: District Sustainability Award
- Grid Alternatives Mid-Atlantic: District Sustainability Award
- Historic Congressional Cemetery: District Sustainability Award
- SuperFd: District Sustainability Award
- DC Housing Authority and Avalon Bay: PowerDown DC Award
- American University: People’s Choice Award
The Embassy of Finland was also presented with the District’s Partner in Sustainability Award. Nearly 200 guests attended the ceremony, which has been held annually since 2009. Click here to see photos of the event and all of the winners.