Eastern Land Management President Bruce T. Moore, Jr. accepted this year’s Change Maker Award for water conservation from the Stamford District 2030, on behalf of ELM’s achievements in addressing drought and extreme weather events, water quality and toxic reduction issues throughout Fairfield County’s urban environment.
The 5th annual Change Maker event was held at the Metro Green Terrace on December 3, 2019, and honored regional projects and local companies for their leadership in environmental resiliency.
Andrew S. Winston, a globally-recognized keynote speaker on mega trends, and author of the new book The Big Pivot, and co-author of international best-seller Green to Gold, spoke on Climate Change and Corporate Engagement.
ELM’s partnerships with Aquarion Water Company and global green tech and smart water pioneer Weathermatic, its resource conservation programs, stormwater and drainage improvement efforts, erosion and bioswale projects, and its native and drought-tolerant plant platform — in addition to ELM’s sustainable snow/ice and winter management services through its new green hub in Monroe, and its effort to support LEED through improved energy efficiency – highlight ELM’s change-leading contributions to urban sustainability.
With targets in place to reduce commercial property irrigation water consumption by 30% over the next three years – or approximately 57 million gallons of outdoor water use annually, ELM has re-imagined its irrigation water efficiency protocols by introducing weather-based irrigation management, water use monitoring and auditing, high-efficiency irrigation systems and materials, computerized sensors, evapotranspiration data, water buffer zones, and multi-year plans to guide pro-active reductions on water use across the region.
In addition, ELM is working to minimize irrigation water run-off to protect groundwater quality through green stormwater infrastructures, compost-amended soil, bio-retention strategies, permeable paving, and green roofs while simultaneously minimizing source pollution through reduction of chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and bio-engineering streams and slopes to manage erosion.
Stamford 2030 District, an initiative of the Fairfield County Business Council, is a collaborative of high performing green businesses in downtown Stamford, Connecticut, that aim to dramatically reduce energy and water consumption, and reduce emissions from transportation, while increasing competitiveness in the business environment. The 2030 District’s water use goals specify incremental targets reaching 50% reduction by 2030.