Annapolis, MD (02-15-12) As part of his Clean and Green City initiative, Mayor Joshua J. Cohen is proud to announce that seven businesses have recertified as Environmental Stewards in the City, committing to two more years of environmental best practices.
They have been recertified under the Annapolis Environmental Stewardship Certification Program which awards best practice certificates to homes, restaurants, lodging establishments, auto repair shops, schools, retail stores, places of worship, and office buildings.
In order to be eligible for the two-year certification the applicant must earn enough qualifying points from a comprehensive checklist of environmental best practices and pass a verification inspection.
The businesses receiving recertification include:
K&B True Value is located at 912 Forest Drive and is owned by Jared Littman who is proud of his hardware and home goods store. “The biggest impact is what we sell to customers,” Mr. Littman said. “We offer ‘green’ alternatives in every department including garden alternatives, a refillable laundry detergent station, no-VOC paint, energy-efficient lighting, and more.” He recently installed solar panels which will reduce energy demands.
The Georgian House Bed & Breakfast is located at 170 Duke of Gloucester Street and is showcased for reducing their table scrap waste using an automatic compost machine. They reduce waste further by sending used soap left from guests to an organization that processes it into sanitized, usable bars. The bars are sent to third-world countries to reduce disease caused by poor hygienic conditions.
Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitor's Bureau can be found at 26 West Street and uses environmental best practices in their office. Employees are turning off lights in rooms when not needed, using recycled products whenever possible, avoiding disposable food and drink containers for meetings and events sponsored by the Visitor’s Bureau, and setting all printers to default double-sided printing.
Loews Annapolis Hotel and BREEZE Restaurant, located at 126 West Street, is currently undertaking a three-year lighting plan to switch out halogen and less-efficient fluorescent lights for T-8 model fluorescents and LED fixtures. Within the last year, they insulated their roof to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.
b.b. Bistro is located at 24A Annapolis Street and purchases most of their beverage and menu ingredients from farms in Maryland. b.b. Bistro reuses coffee grounds turning them into an exfoliating hand scrub on sale at the restaurant.
The Rockfish, located at 400 Sixth Street, emphasizes local food, drinks, and entertainment. It recently received a grant to install pervious pavers in the parking lot to reduce the stormwater runoff created by impervious surfaces.
Galway Bay can be found at 63 Maryland Avenue and continues to be the leader in allergen-free dining options in Annapolis. Owner Anthony Clarke trains his staff and attends conferences in order to cater for allergen-free food handling and cooking. Galway Bay has a comprehensive sustainability program that strives to reduce waste, energy loss, and negative environmental impacts.
For more information on the Stewardship Certification Program, contact Jeanna Beard, DNEP Environmental Program Coordinator at 410-263-7946 or visit www.SustainableAnnapolis.com.
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.
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Media Contact: Rhonda Wardlaw
Office (410) 263-1183
