City of Columbus Celebrates GreenSpot Business, School and Neighborhood Accomplishments
St. Mary School, German Village receive special designation
The City of Columbus presented the prized GreenSpotLight award to three GreenSpot member organizations as part of the annual GreenSpot celebration. Members of the GreenSpot Advisory Board selected the three awardees in the large, medium and small categories using information provided in the businesses’ GreenSpot annual reports. Those organizations are: American Municipal Power, Woolpert, Inc. and ProSource Wholesale Flooring, Kitchen and Bath.
“These businesses demonstrate a high level of commitment to creating a stronger environment,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “With their help, Columbus is becoming a leader in sustainability.”
These organizations use the MyGreenSpot online tool to adopt and track their sustainability successes in water and energy conservation, waste reduction, green transportation and educational outreach.
Councilmember Emmanuel V. Remy, chair of the Council Environment Committee, recognized these businesses for their sustainability efforts. “It is very important to recognize these businesses as they have shown that sustainability is of great importance and significant to the triple bottom line of social, environmental (or ecological) and financial accounting.”
Additionally, five organizations were recognized for completing GreenSpot’s Sustainability Initiative Course. This program provides mentoring and networking opportunities as the businesses go through the GreenSpot application process. This diverse group of organizations received special recognition at the SpotLight Celebration:
• AC Lens
• Cardinal Health
• Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
• L Brands
• Prime AE Group
German Village was recognized as the third GreenSpot Neighborhood for their strong three-year commitment to sustainability by recruiting over 200 GreenSpot members; promoting rain barrels and native plants; signing up for a Community Supported Agriculture program; creating a Facebook group; and working with businesses to increase their positive impact on the environment. The other GreenSpot Neighborhoods include the Discovery District and Sawmill Place Community.
St. Mary School was designated as the first GreenSpot School for implementing a recycling program and school garden. They have incorporated sustainability into the school culture by involving the students in identifying areas of improvement and solutions.
The GreenSpot Program began in 2008 to inspire, educate and recognize those in our community who are taking steps to protect our environment. Currently there are more than 17,000 households, community groups and businesses that are members. Membership forms are available at
www.columbusgreenspot.org.
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