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www.HartfordBusiness.com June 19, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 15 2017 GreenCircle Awards T his special focus section highlights the winners of this year's GreenCircle Awards – an annual awards series organized by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEEP) to highlight business, institutions and individuals who have shown leadership in energy efficiency and reducing their impact on the environment. This year there were nearly 60 nomi- nations for the awards and winners were selected by an independent panel of judges. The winners were honored at a June 8th ceremony, organized by the Hartford Business Journal at the Connecticut Convention Center. Their stories are outlined in PGs. 15-18. WINNER: Town of Woodbridge, Amity Regional School District and Woodbridge Public Schools Town: Woodbridge Sector: Individual/Group Sustainability Components: Facility-wide initiatives; energy and climate change; water; civic improvements; and innovation The town of Woodbridge, including its Amity Regional School District, has implemented several energy-saving proj- ects in recent years to reduce its carbon footprint, earning the municipality three Energy Star certifications in 2016. The town has a microgrid powered by a fuel cell, which is owned and operated by United Illuminating. The high school has converted all of its lighting to LED light bulbs, programed its computers to shut off by 5 p.m., converted from oil to natu- ral gas and has a full-time HVAC technician who monitors and adjusts the building's energy efficiency controls through its Siemens Building Management System. The Woodbridge Beecher Road Elementary school installed a solar electric system in 2016 along with a cogen- eration system and three high-efficiency condensing natural gas boilers to lower hot water and space heating fuel usage. Town hall uses two natural gas boilers to heat its building as well as LED lighting. Rooms also have occupancy sensors. WINNER: PerkinElmer Health Services Inc. Town: Shelton Sector: Business/Industry Sustainability Components: Facility-wide initiatives; energy and climate change; material management/ recycling; and innovation In 2016 PerkinElmer Health Services Inc., which sells products and services to the diagnostics, research and labo- ratory service markets, implemented several environmental projects including its Kimberly Clark RightCycle Program, through which it recycled 1,185 pounds of nitrile gloves and garments to support its zero-waste-to-landfill goals. It also replaced an 800 ton cooling tower with a new stainless steel high-efficiency cooling tower with variable speed drives. Other projects included installing LED lights, which saved 17,315 kilowatt hours of energy in 2016, and holding an impact day in which staff: removed over 2 tons of trash globally from rivers, beaches and parks; planted 145 trees and 300 plants; removed over 25,000 pounds of weeds; and cleared 100 acres of land. WINNER: Bartlett Brainard Eacott Inc. Town: Bloomfield Sector: Business/Industry Sustainability Components: Facility-wide initiatives; energy and climate change; material management/ recycling; water; and innovation In 2016, Bartlett Brainard Eacott Inc. (BBE) said it was the first construction manager in the state to build a project under the International WELL Building Institute standards, which aim to create buildings that promote human health and wellbeing through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind. BBE also promotes and has constructed multiple LEED certified projects. Most recently the company reduced by 30 percent its con- sumption of fossil fuels for temporary heat during construc- tion by investing in high-efficiency equipment, fuel selection and work plans that include enhanced temporary enclosures. The company also helped develop the practice of diverting and recycling acoustical ceiling tile in the state by teaming with Armstrong World Industries to test, package and transport ceil- ing pads back to the factory to be remanufactured. It has recycled more than 350 dumpsters worth of tiles, making it a U.S. leader. BBE has installed more than 220 geothermal wells and also focuses on solar and green roof systems as well as high- performance buildings. WINNER: Becker and Becker Associates Town: Fairfield/Hartford Sector: Business/Industry Sustainability Components: Facility-wide initiatives; energy and climate change; material management/ recycling; innovation; and water After completing a rehabilitation of the vacant 777 Main St. office tower in downtown Hartford in 2015, Becker + Beck- er has continued to green the 500,000-square-foot building, now converted to apartments and commercial space. 777 Main is the first and only mixed-use building in the state that is LEED Platinum certified, according to Becker. The building produces its own heat, hot water and electricity without combustion of fossil fuels via a 400-kilowatt fuel cell and 100-kilowatt solar array. In 2016, the project met 85 percent of its electric demand via its 3.4 million kilowatt hours of on-site generation. The building is also served by a microgrid and incorpo- rates advanced energy-saving technologies including: cen- tralized buildings systems, demand-control ventilation, cen- tral high-efficiency boilers, LED lighting, 11 electric vehicle chargers, Nest smart thermostats, low-flow water fixtures and other features that have reduced apartment power con- sumption to 30 percent of the national household average and water use to 38 percent of the average. WINNER: Pratt & Whitney Town: Middletown Sector: Business/Industry Sustainability Components: Facility-wide initiatives; energy and climate change; material management/ recycling; innovation; civic improvements; and water Pratt & Whitney has been striving to make its Middletown campus more sustainable and took several steps in 2016 to make that happen. The company's initiatives focused on several core areas including: energy savings, greenhouse gas reductions, water reductions, and wood pallet reuse and recycling. Projects included upgrades to chiller controls, process motors, shop lighting and new piping insulation. As a result, Pratt was able to reduce: • Greenhouse gas emissions by 504 metric tons Continued Solar panels atop the 777 Main St. apartment tower in downtown Hartford. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D Gov. Dannel Malloy helps cut the ribbon on a fuel cell at Amity Regional High. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D PerkinElmer's high-efficiency cooling tower replaced an older unit. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D Among the many projects BBE has completed is the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D Pratt workers' trash bounty following a day of environmental cleanup. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D