Cited for a strong commitment to energy efficiency and sustainable building that is reflected in the way that its own work space is organized and operates, Lake | Flato Architects has been named the Air Quality Stewardship Award recipient for 2013.  The firm will receive the award shortly after the opening of the Fiesta Earth Day Celebration at Woodlawn Lake Park in San Antonio on April 20, 2013.

AACOG’s Air Quality Stewardship Award annually recognizes businesses, agencies, schools, and other organizations that make significant voluntary efforts to reduce air pollution and improve the environment. The varying sizes, structures, and missions of nominated organizations are taken into consideration in the selection process.

Eligible for an Air Quality Stewardship Award is any organization based within the 12-county Alamo Region* that is not represented on AACOG’s Air Improvement Resources (AIR) Public Education Committee** and that is helping to improve air quality in at least one of the following categories:

Commuter Assistance 
Examples: Offering programs or incentives that encourage employees to use mass transit and/or carpools and offering alternative (off traffic-peak) work schedules .

Fleet Management
Examples: Utilizing alternative-fuel vehicles and hybrids and establishing idle-reduction policies for delivery trucks/vans

Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Building
Examples: Using energy-efficient lighting and equipment in offices and using building materials made from recycled products

Industrial Process Pollution Reduction
Examples: Replacing outdated equipment and retrofitting stacks and furnaces with scrubbers or other control technologies or using low-VOC products in production processes 

Landscaping
Examples: Planting native, drought-resistant foliage and establishing policies that ban the use of gas-powered mowers and other landscaping equipment on Air Quality Health Alert days.

Air Quality Education
Examples: Participating in the region’s Air Quality Health Alert program by forwarding alerts to employees with recommendations for measures they can take to reduce pollution on Air Quality Health Alert days.

The winners of the annual Air Quality Stewardship Awards are selected by AACOG’s Air Improvement Resources (AIR) Executive Committee, comprised of elected officials from local governments in the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Their selections are based on recommendations of the AIR Public Education Committee whose members reviewed information provided by nominated organizations within the AACOG region. The members of the AIR Public Education Committee represent local businesses and government agencies that are also committed to environmental stewardship.
 
A call for nominations for the 2014 Air Quality Stewardship Awards will be issued in the fall of 2013.  For more information, please contact Annette Prosterman at (210) 362-5213 or .

Air Quality Stewardship Awards in Past Years

2012 – City of Leon Valley, Eagle Veterinary Hospital, HOLT Cat
2011 – Build San Antonio Green, Clothesline Cleaners, Corbo Electric, Episcopal Church of Reconciliation, USAA
2010 – Green Vegetarian Cuisine, Palo Alto College, Pearl Historic Brewery, Sea World
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* The Alamo Region includes Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Medina, and Wilson Counties.

** Member organizations of the AIR Public Education Committee are: Alamo Area Council of Governments, CPS Energy, Texas Independent Automotive Association, San Antonio Water System, VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the City of San Antonio, Texas Department of Transportation, North East Independent School District, Bexar County, Comal County, Guadalupe County, and Wilson County.