Athens, Ga. – Daniel Nadenicek, dean of the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design, recently served as a juror on the 2012 Seimens Sustainable Community Awards panel in Atlanta. The annual competition, which received 135 applications from 40 states across the U.S., is co-sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center and the Seimens Corporation.
The panel consisted of five business, environmental and community development experts. Nadenicek was asked to participate based on the college’s first-place ranking in the nation for teaching sustainable design practices and principles.
“It was an honor to serve on this jury,” said Nadenicek. “Our college has a reputation as a leader in teaching sustainable design. I was glad to be able to channel this expertise into action on a national level.”
The list of the nine finalist communities was released to the public in early April and winners were announced at the awards celebration during the BCLC’s national conference late last month in Atlanta. Cities that achieved top honors included Purcellville, Va., for small community; Santa Monica, Calif., for middle-sized community; and Chicago, Ill. for large community.
“More and more cities are realizing that sustainability initiatives are important levers for economic growth and competitiveness today,” said Alison Taylor, Siemens’ chief sustainability officer for the Americas. “People and businesses want to grow in sustainable environments, and these cities are working hard to provide this.”
Siemens created the awards with the BCLC five years ago. There was a 50 percent increase in the number of applications this year as compared to last year.
Profiles of each finalist community, as well as the judges’ biographies are available on the Seimens Sustainable Community Awards website at http://bclc.uschamber.com/sustainablecommunityawards.
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