Entering its eighth year, the Atlanta E3 Awards recognize companies, organizations and individuals for outstanding achievement in advancing clean tech and best-in-class sustainability practices in the marketplace.

The four winners were chosen from a highly competitive pool of finalists. The entries were carefully vetted and judged by an independent selection committee.

“This year’s Atlanta E3 winners represent the very best of the cutting-edge companies advancing what sustainability means for metro Atlanta’s businesses and their communities,” said Katie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “We are thrilled to showcase their impact in the region and in their respective industries.”

Follow along with Metro Atlanta Chamber social channels this week to learn more about the winners. Each of these winners will be highlighted in a 2021 series of events called Greenlight on Sustainability for a fireside chat style deep dive.

2020 Atlanta E3 Awards Winners:

Genuine Parts Company

Genuine Parts Company, as a leading distributor of auto and industrial replacement parts, office products and electric materials, has made great strides in making their logistics and supply chain more sustainable. Through fleet management and route optimization, they have reduced their fleet by 500 vehicles as well as recycled 20 tons of tires. In 2019, they reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by over 4,000 metric tons and their fuel consumption by over half a million gallons.

Atlanta Hawks/State Farm Arena

The Atlanta Hawks show a strong commitment to sustainability through the retrofitting of State Farm Arena to be the first NBA Arena awarded LEED Certification for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance, as well as through their community engagement work throughout Metro Atlanta. The arena is on a journey to become a Zero Waste facility, their partnership with vendors to focus on supply chain, recycling, composting, and waste management has been significant on the way to reaching that goal. One recent success is the team store eliminating single-use plastic bags for merchandise, and now using paper bags made from recycled cardboard.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hawks partnered with Goodr to provide meals to food-insecure populations such as seniors and low-income students dependent on school meals, and to frontline healthcare workers. Earlier this summer, the organization partnered with Fulton County to create Georgia’s largest-ever voting precinct at State Farm Arena. Early voting for the Georgia General Primary Runoff Election took place this summer at the arena and early voting for the November Presidential election will take place there as well. Hundreds of Hawks and State Farm Arena full-time and part-time employees were trained to serve as election workers to further support the operations.

Georgia Power

Georgia Power and the Georgia Power Foundation demonstrates environmental stewardship in many ways, through programs for stream bank restoration in their right-of-way, responsible water management and research in their power plants, investments in improving air quality and more. Last year, the Georgia Power Foundation created the Water Quality Grant Program, which awarded $1 million in grants this year to nine projects across the state. The grants will help fund projects which are focused on preserving and restoring Georgia’s waterways, lakes and rivers.

Kendeda Building – Georgia Institute of Technology

The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design is, for the moment, a one-of-kind building in the Southeast. It is a multi-disciplinary, non-departmental education building that is pursuing the Living Building Challenge – the world’s most ambitious building performance standard – which aligns with Georgia Tech’s longstanding vision for its campus to serve as a research center for innovation. Rather than being less bad than conventional buildings, The Kendeda Building is regenerative; it gives back more than it takes from the environment. For example, the building incorporates a substantial amount of salvaged materials, is designed to generate more onsite solar electricity each year than it consumes, has a rainwater-to-potable water treatment system, and treats human bio-waste onsite without a connection to the sewer.

For more information about the 2020 E3 Awards, please visit: http://atlantae3awards.com/