Welcome to Mayor Kitty Piercy's Bold Steps Toward Sustainability Award. Sponsored by Cumulus Broadcasting, LLC.

This award is given every other month to a Eugene business that is making decisions using a triple bottom line: taking extra care in how it treats its people, and the planet, while turning a profit.

To nominate a company that is taking bold steps toward sustainability simply:

CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THE ONLINE APPLICATION

Award winners will receive:

• A Bold Steps Recognition Award from Mayor Kitty Piercy.
• An on-air interview between Mayor Piercy, Jerry Allen and the winning company broadcast on KUGN (either live or pre-recorded).
• An on-air interview between Mayor Piercy, Mark Raney and the winning company broadcast on KZEL (also either live or pre-recorded).
• Clips from either of the two interviews to run on all Cumulus Eugene radio stations (approximately a $5,000+ advertising value) for one month.
• On-going web presence on all six Cumulus Eugene Radio websites.

Our committee will evaluate all applications based on the following criteria:

1. Is the business located in Eugene?
2. Is this business taking a triple bottom line approach by taking care in how it treats its people and the planet while turning a profit?
3. Is this business taking a bold step (above industry norms) in at least one of the three areas of sustainability (people, planet, profits)?
4. Is this business doing something that other businesses can learn from?

Selection committee members:

Kelly Hoell: Good Company

David Funk: Funk Levis & Associates

Sherisa Aguirre: Funk Levis & Associates

Sarah Mazze: Resource Innovations

Roger Ebbage: Lane Community College

Steve Mital: University of Oregon

Past Bold Steps winners include:

April 2008: Coastwide Laboratories

Coastwide Laboratories is recognized in the industry as a sustainable pioneer for the formulation of their third party certified Sustainable Earth ® line of commercial "green cleaning chemicals." Coastwide develops products with their entire life cycle in mind with the goal of producing them in an environmentally friendly manner and ensuring that they are used, stored, transported and disposed of in a way that does not harm the environment. The company has an Extended Producer Responsibility program in place through which they accept from customers the return of any materials that they have delivered, including packaging, and include them in their recycling program. All new employees receive a six hour sustainability training and the company works within the industry to educate others and to motivate them to take on issues related to sustainability. The company was a part of the development of the Unified Green Cleaning Alliance (UGCA) that is an industry and stakeholder-wide group that works on green cleaning issues.

February 2008: Mountain Rose Herbs

Mountain Rose Herbs was recognized for their commitment to the Zero Waste Paradigm. Any materials which might be regarded as refuse are either recycled, re-used, composted, or brought back into the production cycle. Examples: office & scrap paper, metal and plastic drums, cardboard, cans, bottles, plastic, steel and wood are salvaged and recycled. Waste oil from the bulk vegetable and carrier oils is collected for bio-diesel salvage (nearly 55 gallons a month), botanical refuse material is collected for composting at local nurseries (nearly 3000 pounds annually). Electronic and computer components are taken to a local facility for proper salvage and disposal, (preventing several known heavy metal sources from being land-filled). Packaging materials and paper supplies are derived from post-consumer recycled materials. With 56 employees, Mountain Rose Herbs generates less than 100 gallons of landfill waste a month (the bulk of this is from bathrooms and kitchen/break-room), which is substantially less than most households.

October 2007: Autohaus / Euro-Asian Automotive

Autohaus/Euro-Asian Automotive have both earned Lane County's prestigious EcoBiz Certification for the automotive industry for their commitment to reducing solid waste, and air and water pollution. Additionally, both shop sites have been outfitted with 12.42 kW solar photovoltaic systems to generate approximately 1/3 of each facility's energy demand.

September 2007: Isler CPA

At Isler CPA each employee receives a paid time budget to perform community service and the company gives thousands of dollars of direct monetary support to community organizations. Isler also provides a generous employee benefits package. The company recently conducted a sustainability assessment of business operations including a carbon footprint analysis and encourages alternative commute options for its employees.

July 2007: Organically Grown Company

Organically Grown Company was honored for creating a comprehensive sustainability plan. The plan outlines the company's three sustainability goals: achieve carbon neutrality and eliminate fossil fuel use; eliminate solid waste; support on-farm sustainability. Organically Grown has taken bold steps toward achieving these goals by increasing the efficiency of its fleet through a combination of equipment utilization and routing optimization initiatives, switching to a B99 biodiesel blend, reducing solid waste and conducting sustainability workshops to share information with growers.

June 2007: Bike Friday

Bike Friday was honored for its commitment to making people-powered transportation comfortable and easy to use. Bike Friday's custom built, folding bicycles help you take your bike with you wherever you go, thereby helping people reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Bike Friday has also developed an efficient manufacturing process that does not use toxic paints and finishes which helps protect employee health and the environment.

June 2007: Slocum Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine

Slocum Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine was recognized for its commitment to sustainability and green building practices as it constructed a new facility off Coburg Road in Eugene. The new building earned the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification at the Silver level. The new facility (among other things) reduces electricity demand by 33% and water demand by 30%, and Slocum has instituted a sustainable purchasing policy and used non-toxic materials in building construction.