San Diego Coastkeeper
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San Diego Coastkeeper’s 13th Annual Ocean Gala
Coastal Champion Award The Coastal Champion Award is awarded to dedicated community and business leaders and volunteers throughout the San Diego community.
Coastal Champion Business Award Qualcomm
Over their 22 year history, Qualcomm has been an innovator and early adopter of energy efficient systems, recycling, renewable energy and sustainability. Over 130 energy saving projects have been implemented to date, resulting in savings of over 10 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, valued at over $1.5 million.
As a charter member of the California Climate Action Registry since 2002, Qualcomm has earned the distinction of “Climate Action Leader” for early and voluntary participation in reporting GHG emissions. Their corporate consciousness in the area of greenhouse gases and their impact on our environment has driven new construction efforts to build “green,” embodied by a newly constructed 1 million square foot campus that is LEED “Gold” Certified.
The energy efficiency, “green” and water conservation measures at this campus epitomize what Qualcomm has done across its 4.5 million square foot of offices in San Diego alone. The list of water and energy efficiency and reuse infrastructure is impressive and includes methods such as use of reclaimed water for irrigation; landscaping with native drought resistant plans and drip irrigation; “infrared sensing” faucets, flush valves, low-flow shower heads/faucets which save over 670,000 gallons of water annually; and much more.
Qualcomm also supports marine habitat preservation through community involvement initiatives. They financially support several non-profit organizations within San Diego County that teach and promote stewardship of our local natural resources, specifically through K-12 education programs.
In addition to financial support, Qualcomm employees volunteer their time to improve and restore sensitive marine habitats. Among their many examples of volunteerism was their participation in the 2008 California Coastal Cleanup Day, when over 100 employees and their families collected 902 pounds of trash and cleaned roughly ten miles of Los Pena~squitos Canyon Preserve, Qualcomm’s adopted site.
San Diego Coastkeeper is proud to award Qualcomm with the Coastal Champion Award for their commitment to San Diego’s marine and water environment through their use of water and energy efficient building infrastructure and support of local marine habitats.
Coastal Champion Leadership AwardA Coastal Champion Leadership award was awarded to San Diego Coastkeeper Board Member Sandy Kaupp at the event for his commitment and leadership to protecting the environment and San Diego’s waterways.
Sandy has served on the Board for more than 10 years, helping to bring on our Current Executive Director Bruce Reznik, and serving every role including President and currently chairs our Legal Committee, and he has done so without asking for (and until now receiving) any level of recognition other than knowing he was playing an important role in helping protect our local waterways.
Sandy is a renaissance man who has a background in marine biology, from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and human physiology, and for the last 10 years has been working as a Research Analyst with the Navy Refractive Surgery Center, Naval Medical Center San Diego.
We thank Sandy for being such a dedicated member of the Coastkeeper family!