Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement Awards to gather nominations for second year
As an ideal, environmental sustainability transcends business and politics; as a practice, both arenas are trying to evolve. The Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement award, which recognized its inaugural winners last spring, brings government and business together to promote sustainable practices in Columbia’s community.
The city’s sustainability office developed the award from an item on the city’s 2014 economic development plan: promote eco-friendly business. But, with limited resources available to make that goal a reality, the city initially felt handcuffed.
“We didn’t — still don’t — have money to throw and incentivize businesses to be environmentally friendly,” said Barbara Buffaloe, Columbia’s sustainability manager. “But we saw that we can recognize and promote businesses that were doing the things we want to see.”
The MCPA award was created on Earth Day, 2014 and the city announced their first winners one year later. Nine businesses won recognition in four different categories: environmental stewardship, innovative best practices, pollution prevention and resource conservation.
Buffaloe said the first batch of winners were critical to building the MCPA brand and maximizing the benefits of award recognition. To accompany the award, the city produced video profiles of each winner:
“The response was awesome,” Buffaloe said. “At the awards reception, every single winner was so excited for themselves and for the other winners. it was great to see a large industrial corporation talk with people who do urban agriculture.”
The urban agriculture representative was the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, which was nominated by a volunteer. The CCUA won in the environmental stewardship category.
“It was really neat that to be part of that inaugural group,” said Billy Polansky, CCUA general manager. “It made us feel like maybe we were an obvious choice, if we were among that first group, and that was nice.”
The second annual awards will feature a new category: the overall award. That prize will go to a previous recipient that goes above and beyond the practices that won their first award.
Last year’s awards process drew 32 applicants, but Buffaloe hopes to draw in more this year. Nominations open on September 1 and will be available on the sustainability office website.