Santa Monica, CA, February 12, 2013 - The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Sustainable Works and the City of Santa Monica's Office of Sustainability and the Environment, are pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 Sustainable Quality Awards. 

The Sustainable Quality Awards (SQA) recognize businesses in Santa Monica that have made significant achievements in the areas of sustainable economic development, social responsibility and stewardship of the natural environment.  

The 2013 Awards Luncheon on March 13th will honor this year's winners and will celebrate the 100+ businesses honored since the SQA launched in 1995.  The event will feature special appearances by Ed Begley Jr. and California State Senator Sheila Kuehl.

"We are thrilled to highlight so many great businesses this year" says Laurel Rosen, President of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.  "These awards are a great way for us to honor those who have a commitment to social responsibility, local economy, and the environment which is such an important part of our community."

This year, the Sustainable Quality Awards Grand Prize is awarded to businesses for combined excellence in three areas: economic development, social responsibility, and stewardship of the natural environment.  "Excellence" awards are given to outstanding achievements in any one of the three areas. 

SQA Grand Prize Winners

"Reaching the 100+ awards milestone is a remarkable achievement for our community.  We congratulate the past and current winners on their exemplary leadership," says Shannon Parry, Assistant Director for the Office of Sustainability and the Environment for the City of Santa Monica.

Celebrating its 18th year, the 2013 Sustainable Quality Awards (SQA) is pleased to announce three SQA Grand Prize winners and nine winners in the Excellence categories:

Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau 
SQA Grand Prize

Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau (SMCVB) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Santa Monica as a travel destination. SMCVB supports Santa Monica's hospitality workforce by offering free customer service training and recently launched a citywide customer service recognition program called The Thelma Parks Tourism Spirit Award.

A founding partner of the Santa Monica Green Business Certification Program, SMCVB encourages local hospitality businesses to get certified as well.  SMCVB's environmental policies include energy efficiency, natural lighting, environmentally preferable purchasing and walking or biking for local errands. SMCVB also encourages visitors to go car-free by providing biketineraries and green transportation guidance.

Tiato & An Catering  
SQA Grand Prize

Tiato & An Catering offers eco-chic dining, a retail market and catering services.  They hire locally and utilize sustainable goods.  The company promotes employee wellness and professional development by providing tuition assistance, wellness discounts, team building and internal training opportunities.

Located in a LEED certified building and certified as a Santa Monica Green Business, Tiato goes above and beyond for resource efficiency and environmental purchasing. The restaurant hosts biodynamic and organically grown wine tasting, recycles used kitchen oil into hand soap for their restrooms and integrates environmental practices through training. This February, Tiato is partnering with Carbonfund.org to donate one tree for two cocktails ordered to honor the month of LOVE.

yogitoes 
SQA Grand Prize

yogitoes is a creative yoga products company making sustainable yoga tools that integrate need with design. The business offers products made with recycled content and interacts with the community through their Experience Lab, providing a retail space and a venue to host special events supporting environmental and wellness efforts.

Team members have a voice on establishing partnerships with other companies; they also enjoy flexible schedules and many strong social benefits. yogitoes donates to a wide range of programs including the Santa Monica-based 5 Gyres Institute and San Quentin prisoners yoga and meditation programs.

Excellence in Stewardship of the Natural Environment

The Ambrose offers a touch of holistic hospitality by blending upscale tranquility with affordable luxury and low impact hotel practices. For guests, they provide non-toxic rooms, sustainable and organic cuisine and bike rentals; for employees they provide bike storage and showers, preferred parking for hybrid vehicles and complementary bus passes. The Ambrose uses a preferred list of vendors that comply with their sustainable business policies.

The Ambrose touts a number of recognitions: the hotel was the first pilot Santa Monica Green Certified Hotel in 2006; they are an ENERGY STAR certified facility, a member of the Green Hotels Association, and the first US hotel to receive LEED for Existing Buildings Silver Certification.

Bru's Wiffle - A Waffle Joint 
Excellence in Stewardship of the Natural Environment

Bru's Wiffle is a cozy, bright yellow Waffle Joint where everything is made from scratch, using only the freshest and finest ingredients. Bru's Wiffle has reduced its waste by composting, reusing empty cleaning chemical containers and recycling used cooking oil for SMMUSD buses. 80% of employees use public transportation, rides a bike or walks to work and each staff meeting offers opportunities to discuss successes and the next steps to be greener.

A member of the Buy Local Santa Monica campaign, Bru's Wiffle supports the community by donating to the Santa Monica Fire Department and to local schools. They participated in Sustainable Works' Business Greening Program and achieved Green Business Certification in 2011.

Central Parking 
Excellence in Social Responsibility

Central Parking is a professional parking management firm operating nation-wide in structures, open lots and pay-by-space lots. The company prioritizes internal promotions and also collaborates with Santa Monica College to hire students. Central Parking cares for its employees by offering generous leaves, profit-sharing, 401(k) options and rewarding employees through In Celebration of You Day.

Central Parking supports the Santa Monica community with a rideshare board with alternative transportation solutions, encouraging volunteering, and providing bike valet services for local events.

HGA Architects and Engineers 
Excellence in Social Responsibility and Stewardship of the Natural Environment

HGA Architects and Engineers (HGA) is a major integrated architecture, engineering and planning firm. As a socially responsible business, HGA grants leave of absences and reduced work schedules upon request, and offers full benefits to employees working 24 hours or more per week. The company actively participates during Employee Appreciation Month and invites employees to share ideas, set goals and address training needs.

HGA is also a champion of green building, committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 after signing the Architecture 2030 Carbon Neutral Design Commitment.  In addition to educating staff and clients on green building and sustainable design, they are working on a zero-plus approach in building design which includes going beyond net zero and producing more energy than consumed.

Hostelling International LA/Santa Monica 
Excellence in Stewardship of the Natural Environment

Hostelling International (HI) - LA/Santa Monica reveals an eco-friendly, high-end hostel experience two blocks from the beach.  HI's environmental practices include providing only reusable dishes and utensils in the communal kitchen, printing double-sided on recycled content paper and using Green Seal Certified cleaners. Housekeeping and maintenance managers are educated on green cleaning policies and guests can offset their carbon emissions by making a voluntary donation for each night's stay.

HI also houses the oldest surviving brick building in Santa Monica, the Rapp Saloon, built in 1875. They renovated the Saloon, and now offer it as a space for community and art events such as travel workshops, poetry readings, and comedy nights.

PayrollCentric employees have a voice in defining the company's annual goals and receive in-kinds rewards when they bring new clients. In 2012 PayrollCentric partnered with the American Red Cross to help them raise funds on a continuous basis; they are the only payroll company in the United States to develop this kind of relationship with a charity. 

Santa Monica Pier Aquarium 
Excellence in Economic Development and Stewardship of the Environment

Heal the Bay's Santa Monica Pier Aquarium inspires understanding and conservation of the Santa Monica Bay and watersheds through education, stewardship and discovery.  Recognized for their role in protecting and enhancing California's natural treasures, the California Travel Association last summer awarded Heal the Bay with the Stewardship of the Year Award.

In 2011, the Aquarium began pumping seawater directly from the Bay for use in their exhibits, avoiding the purchase and transport of seawater. The latest Aquarium exhibit focuses on educating people about Los Angeles water, where it comes from and why it is a resource to be conserved. The aquarium offers bus passes, provides bicycle parking for staff and volunteers, and a Smart Car for work-related trips.

Santa Monica Place 
Excellence in Stewardship of the Natural Environment

Santa Monica Place is a modern, open-air shopping destination featuring Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and a contemporary mix of shops and visionary restaurants.

Certified LEED Gold since 2012, Santa Monica Place has reduced or offset more than 3 million kWh from its 104 kW photovoltaic plant, energy management systems and purchasing green power. Waterless urinals, high efficiency faucets, and automatic sensor fixtures reduce bathroom water use by 42%. Their sustainability kiosk provides information about LEED certification and their company policies. All of the shops are involved in the Macerich GIVE Green Gift Card program, which donates a portion of every purchase to American Forest, the oldest citizen conservation non-profit.  To date, the partnership has planted over144,000 trees.

Three Squares Inc.
Excellence in Stewardship of the Natural Environment

Three Squares Inc. (TSI) is an environmental consulting firm which designs sustainability into the internal and external DNA of organizations.  They consult companies using their Corporate Sustainability Program™ to engage employees with environmental education and organize some of the nation's most prominent sustainable events and marketing campaigns.

TSI is woman-owned, it is Santa Monica Green Certified Business, and offsets 100% of its emissions. TSI's 2012 Women in Green Forum was the first U.S. conference to demonstrate compliance with ISO 20121, the new international standard for event sustainability.  The TSI team also regularly conducts educational environmental field trips and is hosting a class for 6-9 year olds on Eco Living at Santa Monica PAL in the Spring. 

Background

Five of the Sustainable Quality Award Winners participated in the Sustainable Works' Business Greening Program.  Eight of the 12 winners achieved Santa Monica Green Business Certification. The Business Greening Program is a FREE service for businesses located in Santa Monica and provides the SQAs with several strong candidates each year. Contact Sustainable Works for more information or sign up.

By recognizing local businesses that have thrived through the adoption of more sustainable practices, the Sustainable Quality Awards hope to inspire other companies and individuals to adopt their own environmental measures to help conserve our natural resources.

Awards Luncheon: March 13, 2013; 11 AM - Sheraton Delfina Hotel.  Pre-paid tickets are $55 for Chamber members and $60 for non-members until March 6, 2013.  Reserve tickets by calling 310.393.9825.  Tickets can also be purchased at www.smsqa.com.

For more information on the Sustainable Quality Awards visit www.smsqa.com.

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