Earlier this week, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced the winners of the 6th CoolCalifornia Small Business Awards, recognizing small businesses that demonstrate leadership and make notable, voluntary achievements toward reducing their carbon footprint. CARB’s press release is shared below:
“These businesses illustrate the California story,” said CARB Chair Mary Nichols. “From Eureka to San Diego, from an auto body shop to a winery, small businesses throughout the State are showing that environmental protection, innovation, and profit go hand-in-hand.”
The 19 award winners were selected from competitive applicants, representing a variety of business sectors from across the state. These businesses took a number of different actions to save money and improve their business operations while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts. Some of the steps they took included installing LED lights, solar panels, and energy-efficient equipment; manufacturing biodiesel or using biodiesel fueled vehicles; eliminating toxic chemicals and solvents; using eco-friendly, recycled/reused/repurposed products; composting food scraps and plant material; and starting or enhancing recycling and water conservation programs.
Three businesses received the Business of the Year award for demonstrating exceptional climate change management practices and emission reductions, while documenting their cost savings, return on investment and benefits received from taking specific actions. Sixteen businesses were acknowledged as Climate Leaders for taking proactive steps to reduce their impact on our climate and communicating this information to their employees and customers.
The winners come from 15 California cities across the state and represent different industries including manufacturing, catering, fitness, transportation services, dental healthcare, personal care products, solar installation, waste recycling, vineyard/winery, hospitality, and animal healthcare.
2015 CoolCalifornia Small Business Award Winners
Businesses of the Year
| Business Name | City |
|---|---|
| Luxury Auto Body | San Diego |
| Surplus Service | Fremont |
| Wolff Vineyards | San Luis Obispo |
Climate Leaders
| Business Name | City |
|---|---|
| Affirmative Wealth Management | El Cerrito |
| Aussie Pet Mobile Sonoma County | Santa Rosa |
| Clean Solar | San Jose |
| Crown Paper Converting | Ontario |
| Dental Healing | Los Angeles |
| Elevated Fitness | South Lake Tahoe |
| Global Gourmet Catering | San Francisco |
| Granlibakken Tahoe | Tahoe City |
| Incredible Adventures | San Francisco |
| Natoma Technologies | Sacramento |
| New Leaf Biofuel | San Diego |
| Nori’s Eco Salon | Encino |
| Santa Barbara Airbus | Goleta |
| SHN Engineers & Geologists | Eureka |
| ShowPro | Los Angeles |
| The Refill Shoppe | Ventura |
The award winners were scored by two-person teams comprised of staff from public agencies and private businesses. ARB staff and leadership further reviewed scores, conducted site visits and performed environmental reviews to select the 2015 winners.
Awards will be presented to the winning businesses at a ceremony on March 2, 2016, at The Citizen Hotel, 926 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
CoolCalifornia.org is an online resource providing all Californians with the information and tools they need to take climate action. The website features money-saving actions, climate calculators, case studies and links to financial incentives to help individuals, small businesses, local government and schools gain the knowledge needed to take simple steps for a sustainable future. For more information, visit www.coolcalifornia.org