AFCEE announces sustainability award winners

  • Published
  • By Rosszella Greer
  • AFCEE Operations Support
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Nearly a year ago, the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment established an award program focused on recognizing an employee's commitment to sustainability, a value inherent in the agency's mission.

The annual Employee Commitment to Sustainability Award has two categories, design and contruction; and operations, programs and technology.

The design and construction category judges look for innovation, leadership and initiative while promoting sustainable project or program management concepts, techniques, practices or theories; demonstrations in promoting and adhering to state-of-art principles and practices such as those set forth in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the Department of Defense or other recognized rating systems or guides. They also consider demonstrated patterns of positive management practices that highlight an employee or team's knowledge and understanding of sustainable principles in design and construction.

In the operations, programs and technology category, judges look at how teams or employees serve as role models and their influence on others to adopt green habits within the Air Force or the community, how they develop or implement new and effective green solutions, create cost-savings through resource efficiencies and conversation, contribute to education and environmental stewardship, take proactive and innovative approaches toward finding sustainable solutions, manage or champion change effectively through formal or informal leadership, and how they participate in collaborative problem-solving by breaking down boundaries and creating new relationships to promote sustainability.

All AFCEE government employees are eligible to compete for the awards and individual or team submissions are accepted. Awardees receive a $500 bonus (with teams splitting the moentary incentive) and a day off from work. Winners are selected by a panel of senior leadership at AFCEE.

Congratulations to the 2010 award winners:

Rose Forbes in the design and construction category.

Forbes is an environmental engineer who spearheads the AFCEE Massachusetts Military Reservation sustainable remediation program. This includes all facets of planning, policy identification, development, tactical, execution, performance measurement and communication. Forbes created and chaired the MMR Energy Committee, bringing together Army, Air Force, Coast Guard and numerous other base organizations to promote and implement energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.

She executed sustainability projects through her adept management skills and extensive technical prowess. She planned and executed the programming, acquisition, design, construction and operation of MMR's $4.6 million, 1.5-megawatt wind turbine, which will offset the program's current power consumption and emissions by up to 30 percent.

She conducted the environmental planning, site approval and acquisition for two new wind turbines requiring coordination with over 20 federal, state and local agencies, and conducted five public meetings leading to completion of an Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact. This $9.4 million wind turbine project will bring MMR's program to "100 percent onsite renewable" in 2014 and is planned to yield a net reduction in the MMR's cost to complete in excess of $26 million.

Forbes continually demonstrated an unparalleled personal commitment to sustainability by sharing and educating, while developing an ambassadorial role for AFCEE/MMR and its environmental stewardship achievements.

Paula S. Shaw in the operations, programs and technology category.

Shaw is a general engineer in AFCEE's Technical Division who is the Sustainable Design and Development technical consultant and subject matter expert for the Air Force and DOD for SDD answers. Shaw authored comprehensive Air Force SDD policy revisions for civil engineering, defined SDD elements for Air Force construction and ensured sustainability was incorporated into all new construction to reduce energy and water-use 32 percent for Air Force facilities.

Shaw has been a featured speaker on innovative installation approaches to sustainability at the Federal Facilities Council meeting and has provided accurate responses to congressional, Government Accountability Office, and the house armed services committee.

Shaw has promoted several collaborative efforts within and outside the Air Force, and her proactive approach forged strong relationships to improve communication and better support sustainable plans and programs leading to benefits for all of DOD.

She led several major AFCEE interactions on SDD and energy issues ensuring consistent guidance and facilitating information transfer and holistic alignment of sustainable and energy efforts, resulting in the leveraging of over a $250 million energy budget. She also directed a tri-service, U.S. Green Building Council, Interagency Sustainability Working Group, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency team to develop a new installation sustainability metric. The comprehensive approach reduces data collection and reporting, saving the Air Force approximately $277 million.