Annapolis, MD (11-24-09) Eleven Annapolis businesses became the newest Environmental Stewards to receive city certification.
At the November 23rd City Council meeting, the businesses were applauded for incorporating environmentally sustainable practices into their business operations.
The Stewardship Certification Program awards best practice certificates to homes, restaurants, lodging establishments, auto repair shops, retail stores, and office buildings. This group of businesses represents the first of the hotel/hospitality, retail/office and automotive repair businesses.
The new businesses earning certification are:
Retail/Office
• Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau - 26 West St.
• The Clay Bakers - 151 Main St.
• K&B True Value - 912 Forest Dr.
• Mixed Greens - 48 Randall St.
• Vivo! - 6 Fleet St.
Auto
• Rich Morton Lincoln Mercury of Annapolis - 1013 West St.
• Scotty’s Automotive Service - 147 Gibralter Ave.
Hotel
• The Georgian House Bed and Breakfast - 170 Duke of Gloucester St.
• Loews Annapolis Hotel - 126 West St.
• The Peninsula House Bed and Breakfast - 11 Chester Ave.
Also, earning certification in the restaurant category is Atwater's Bakery in the Annapolis Market House.
In order to be certified, each business earned enough qualifying points from a comprehensive checklist of environmental best practices and passed a verification inspection.
For more information on the Stewardship Certification Program, contact Maria Broadbent, DNEP Environmental Program Coordinator at 410-263-7946. The Annapolis Environmental Stewardship Certification Program is a part of the Department of Neighborhood and Environmental Programs’ Sustainable Annapolis initiative-a program to reduce the city’s carbon footprint and to protect and improve the environmental health of our neighborhoods and watersheds.
Annapolis will install SHARROWs to make roads safer for bicyclists and motorists
A SHARROW is a shared lane for bikes and automobiles. They are installed where it is difficult to install a full bike lane that meets the state width requirements. Full details can be found here.
Annapolis Environmental Stewardship Workshop
On Tuesday, September 29, 2009, Annapolis’ Department of Neighborhood & Environmental Programs, Sustainable Annapolis Program will be offering a unique workshop to residents who are interested in becoming certified Environmental Stewards. In addition to the stewardship program, the training will also discuss how residents can use the City’s Carbon Calculator to reduce their carbon footprint. By using these tools, residents can save money by improving their energy efficiency, lower their impact on the Bay, and support the local economy. City residents who attend the training will qualify to receive an Eco-Kit at no charge, which is an energy efficiency and environmental tool kit that can help them save $100’s a year in utilities and shave 2 tons of carbon off their annual footprint.
The stewardship program awards a certificate to households that are able to achieve a certain number of points on the stewardship checklist. There are a total of nine sections to the checklist: home/office study, food, indoor & cleaning, outdoor & yard, waste management, water conservation, energy, transportation, and miscellaneous. These nine sections will be explored in detail at the training, which will help residents to achieve the household certification.
As more residents use these tools, the community will get closer to meeting the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal set in the Sustainable Annapolis Community Action Plan: 25% reduction of 2006 levels by 2012 (50% for the government), 100% by 2050.
The workshop will be held on September 29th, 2009, in the City Council Chambers (160 Duke of Gloucester St), from 7-8:30pm. If you have any questions about the workshop or the stewardship program, you can go to www.SustainableAnnapolis.com or contact the Department of Neighborhood & Environmental Programs at 410-263-7946.
Please notify your fellow residents/members about this opportunity.
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Two new Environmental Stewardship Certification Programs have been released in addition to the existing restaurants and households programs. View the press release or visit the stewardship program website to download the workbooks.
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Annapolis certifies more restaurants as environmental stewards
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Following on the heels of the Environmental Stewardship certification program for restaurants, a new workbook has been released for a household environmental stewardship self-certification program. Take the pledge today to become a certified Annapolis Environmental Steward!
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Five Annapolis restaurants are the first to receive the new Sustainable Annapolis Environmental Steward certification.
Environmental Stewardship Certification Workbook for Restaurants released
A new Environmental Stewardship Certification Program will educate restaurant owners, managers and their staff about how to make their businesses more environmentally friendly. Under the program, restaurants earn points from a checklist of categories including: serving local food, energy efficiency improvements, water conservation, environmental education efforts and more. One hundred out of nine hundred available points must be earned to qualify for the initial two-year certification.
After restaurants submit their application to the Department of Neighborhood and Environmental Programs, they must meet with staff prior to being awarded certification. This gives DNEP staff an opportunity to suggest additional improvements.
This is one of only a few true municipal certification programs in the country and is the first in a series to be awarded by the City of Annapolis. Upcoming programs will award certifications for lodging, auto repair shops, retail stores and office buildings.
Free technical assistance and resource referrals are a key part of the program. For more information contact Maria Broadbent, Environmental Program Coordinator at 410-263-7946. A copy of the stewardship certification workbook can be downloaded here.
