Sustainable Quality Award Winners
Presented in alphabetical order. Click on a letter below for a listing of winners.
Excellence in Social Responsibility, 2010
Gensler is a global architecture, design, planning and consulting firm – with over 2,000 employees. They emphasize building retrofits and present proven successful case studies of green building techniques that reduce absenteeism and increase employee productivity. Since 2000, Gensler hosted 1,000+ internships firm-wide. Gensler maintains a diverse work force by striving to recruit, and promote women, ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities. The firm recognizes a new generation of leaders through an annual recognition program - where employees are rewarded for leadership in their area of discipline. Achievement Awards are given to individuals and teams for contributions made throughout the year for community service, sustainability efforts, mentoring, project work, and other areas. Gensler offers full medical, dental and vision coverage for family/dependent and domestic partners. In addition, they have an Employee Assistance Plan for behavioral health, wellness, work-life, and crisis intervention services.
Excellence Award in Stewardship of the Natural Environmental, 2005
Getty Images provides still and moving images to communication professionals. When they realized their office supply company did not stock green cleaners, they contracted with a company that did. Employees facilitate an eco-oriented bulletin board and quiz game that issues prizes purchased with recycling monies. They also save trees by deleting their fax number from databases.
Gillette Company
Sustainable Quality Award, 1996; Excellence Award in Economic Development and Stewardship of the Natural Environment, 1998
The Gillette Company’s Stationery Products Facility in Santa Monica manufactures ballpoint pens, felt tip pens, markers and mechanical pencils. Manufacturing operations include plastic molding, metal machining, ink manufacturing, assembly, packaging and warehousing. Production in 1997 increased to 1.25 billion pens shipped annually. Gillette’s Santa Monica facility employs approximately 700 full-time employees and has been in operation since 1966.
Gladstein, Neandross & Associates
Excellence Award in Stewardship of the Natural Environmental, 2005
One of the nation's leading consulting firms for alternative fuel transportation and energy technologies, this firm develops and implements strategies which aim to reduce emissions and the use of conventional petroleum fuels. They are pioneers in their industry for encouraging alternative fuel fleets, sustainable development, and renewable energy programs. Their office practices include buying recycled office products and furniture.
Excellence in Stewardship for the Environment, 2019; Excellence in Social Responsibility, 2018; Excellence in Economic Development, 2016
Global Green creates catalytic projects to serve as models for helping create sustainable communities and identifies policy and financial solutions to bring them to scale. They have been very influential in making California ahead of the rest of the country on sustainability issues and green and and energy efficient building.
Global Green created an Eco-Ambassador program to increase community engagement for food waste reduction and recycling programs in multi-family residences. To walk the talk, all Global Green events, including their Pre-Oscar party and Millennium Awards, are zero waste. They also close the recycling loop with sustainable purchasing like giving preference to the highest post-consumer content available for all paper products. Global Green’s initiatives focus on sustainable solutions not just for our planet--but for people.
Excellence in Stewardship of Natural Environment, 2011
Gorman & Miller is a sophisticated small business law practice, with an emphasis on commercial real estate transactions, commercial litigation, venture capital transactions, employment law, and franchising/distribution law. An active Green Team consisting of three employees participated in Sustainable Works Business Greening Program. Employee handbooks incorporate environmental policies. Gorman & Miller uses technology to gain efficiency for natural resources – and for clients. For example, in appropriate situations, they use a paperless online management system called the Closing Table® which enables clients to securely access transaction documents via internet connection. In litigated matters, they can file and serve pleadings and other court documents electronically, reducing paper use, and saving mailing and delivery costs. The paper stocked at Gorman & Miller is Forest Stewardship Council certified. Other supplies such as notepads and paper towels - contain 30-60% post-consumer content. To further reduce their ecological footprint, they eliminate individual bottles of water by refilling glassware and mugs are stocked in conference rooms.
Excellence in Economic Development & Stewardship of the Environment, 2018
Groundwork Coffee has been a certified coffee roaster since 1990 selling organic coffee, organic teas, and home brewing merchandise. They installed over 100 high-efficiency solar panels at the company’s roasting facility in Hollywood.
Other environmental initiatives include switching to compostable straws, procuring eco-friendly food to-go ware made from recycled bottles, employee training, and enhanced in-store recycling and composting programs.
Groundwork helps reduce LA traffic congestion and pollution by providing financial incentives for staff members to join the MTA transit program. Employees have the option to pay $20 for a monthly MTA metro pass – saving them $55 per month to ride the metro and bus to and from work. To support and contribute to their local community, Groundwork hosts their own bi-annual own Beach Cleanups– forming partnerships with Kassia Surf, Guayaki and Surf Rider Foundation.
Groundwork demonstrates a powerful commitment to the “triple bottom line” from the source of their coffee production as they strive as a more sustainable business model. One of the judges commented that their application tells “A strong economic development story.”
Gwynne Pugh Urban Studio (GP-US) (video)
SQA Grand Prize, 2016
Gwynne Pugh Urban Studio is a Santa Monica-based national award-winning firm providing a wide array of sustainable services in the fields of architecture, urban design, planning, and sustainability consultation. The firm has worked on everything affordable housing, to commercial and retail projects, as well as transportation-oriented developments, including two hotels currently being constructed across the street from the new Expo Line terminus in downtown Santa Monica.
The firm is staff with an office of fewer than 10 employees, with health insurance offered to all. GP-US pays, in lieu of coverage, a stipend to the employee. To improve employee productivity, they recently invested in Revit software which allows for 2D and 3D design components and can access the building model's databases, allowing employees to do more technologically advanced work in less time. To encourage a healthy work-life balance and reduce the number of commutes, GP-US employees follow a 9/80 schedule, working 9-hour days and taking every other Friday off. Several employees regularly cycle to work, as well as nearby job-sites. In order to encourage employees to advance their careers and become licensed architects, GP-US pays for all costly exam fees.
Regarding sustainability efforts in house, GP-US has a tank-less water heater to conserve energy. To minimize paper use, construction drawings and other documents are delivered electronically whenever possible. GP-US, a certified small business enterprise itself, also makes a concerted effort to work with consultants who qualify as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE), minority-owned (MBE), or woman-owned (WBE).
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