Business award winners

2000

EarthLinks, Denver, is a path breaking effort to link the ecological dimensions of sustainability with its often overlooked equity component. Using trips into nature, garden projects, educational workshops and a program which allows urban sixth graders to visit mountain or plain environments and then host a return visit for those who have never experienced an urban environment, EarthLinks allows poor and marginalized people to experience new learning, a sense of community, and the lessons of the natural world.

Women’s Bean Project, Denver, for addressing the social equity component of sustainable principles by providing a stepping stone toward economic self-sufficiency for women who come from backgrounds of poverty and displacement .
BigHorn Home Improvement Center, Silverthorne, for conceptualizing, designing and constructing a retail home improvement center by using a whole building approach incorporating the site, materials, windows, walls, electrical and mechanical systems for maximum energy efficiency. It has been named by the American Institute of Architects and its Committee on the Environment as one of the top ten buildings in the world whose design protects and enhances the environment.
Delta–Montrose Electric Association, for pioneering propane powered fuel cells and providing area customers with the option of using a geo-thermal heat pump to heat and cool residences. Cost for a 2,000 square foot house using standard propane…$2, 645. Using a geothermal coupling…..$1,600. DMEA also believes in the future of distributed generation which would reduce the need for central power stations like those at Craig and huge transmission lines to ship the energy.

Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust and Lynne Sherrod, for tirelessly representing the interests of farmers, ranchers, conservationists and non-development community interests through the use of conservation easements thereby preserving thousands of acres of agricultural land, a traditional way of living and making a living, and by doing so, saving wildlife, precious habitat, riparian ecosystems and preserving open space.

Calpine Energy, for its leadership in providing geothermal and combined heat and power, (Calpine will soon be the nation’s seventh largest generator) and for its two new power plants in Colorado which will generate enough low emitting, affordable and reliable power to meet the needs of 900,000 households in Colorado’s front range communities.
Forest City Stapleton, Inc, Denver, for planning and constructing a housing and retail development with a defined sustainable strategy including recycling 1,100 acres of runways from the old airport into 6 million tons of aggregate used as a base for roads and sidewalks; using LEEDS guidelines in the development and construction of the town center; specifying that all homes constructed meet or exceed the Built Green Colorado Program, and employing a full time Director of Sustainability. The project has been honored nationally and internationally as a model of sustainable development and construction practices.

Aspen Skiing Company, for their industry leading efforts in energy and water conservation, greenhouse gas emission strategies, sustainable design of facilities, and voluntary employee contributions to environmental projects totaling more than $700,000.

cityWild, a northwest Denver nonprofit that provides low income, at risk culturally diverse middle and high school aged youth with outdoor and environmentally based learning opportunities to promote themes of personal empowerment, leadership, and community participation.

Whole Foods Market was the first major U.S. company to convert all its energy to green sources in its stores, facilities, bake houses, distribution centers and national headquarters. WFM chose Boulder based Renewable Choice Energy as its exclusive supplier of renewable energy credits. As a leader in the food industry, Whole Foods Market is hopeful that their action will encourage other food markets to follow suit.