RF Honor Award Titles:   
The Regional Forester’s “Leadership in Sustainability” Award
The Regional Forester’s “Leadership Partner in Sustainability” Award

These awards are established to recognize an individual or group, internal and external, who through their efforts, have made outstanding contributions to reduce the Forest Service’s environmental footprint in any of the following areas: energy, water, green purchasing, facility or site design/green buildings, electronic stewardship, fleet and transportation, and waste prevention/recycling.

Eligibility:
“Leadership in Sustainability” Award:  All Forest Service employees or groups of employees.

“Leadership Partner in Sustainability” Award:  All Forest Service employees or groups of employees and all external collaborators, partners, and permittees working with the Forest Service.

Nomination Criteria:
Nominations will be evaluated based on the following (nominations can be submitted in either one or multiple categories – does not need to be all):

Waste Reduction/Pollution Prevention
•	Practices that result in the change in the design, manufacturing or use/reuse of materials or products
•	Activities by which products or other materials are prevented entirely from entering the waste stream (e.g., reduced packaging)
•	Reduction in the amount of toxicity in waste materials before recycling, reuse, treatment or disposal
•	Outreach programs/projects or educational efforts designed to promote pollution prevention and waste prevention goals

Recycling
•	Recycling activities, including collection, separation and processing, by which products or other materials are recovered from (or prevented from entering) the waste stream for use in the manufacture of new products (other than fuel for producing heat or power by combustion) at a Forest Service site, facility or operation.
•	Internal and/or external education component or public outreach program designed to promote recycling at a Forest Service site, facility or operation or that promotes partnerships with the surrounding community to promote recycling.

Water Conservation
•	Practices that reduce water consumption (relative to the baseline water consumption use from the previous fiscal year)
•	Reduction in the amount of toxicity in waste materials before recycling, reuse, treatment or disposal
•	Outreach programs/projects or educational efforts designed to promote water conservation 

Energy Conservation
•	Practices that improve energy efficiency and reduce electrical consumption (relative to the baseline electricity consumption use from the previous fiscal year)
•	Increase in use of renewable energy sources such as solar power, wind, biomass, or geothermal.
•	Outreach programs or educational efforts designed to promote energy conservation.

Green purchasing
•	Effective and innovative programs for the purchase and use of bio-based and recycled content products at a  Forest Service site, facility or operation
•	Pilot projects, product testing, education/outreach to employees and/or the public, or development of solicitation or contract language that demonstrates how the agency started to purchase bio-based products
•	Development of bio-based purchasing plans or “green” purchasing plans that include product purchasing
•	Outreach or educational programs designed to promote green purchasing objectives
•	Quantifiable increase in bio-based and/or recycled content product purchasing and use of those products at the site, facility or operation

Sustainable Facility and Site Design, Green Buildings
•	Sustainable design and green building projects completed, under construction or have planning process completed and contract awarded (address all facets of structure/project’s life cycle such as design, energy efficiency, materials usage, and building operations).
•	Cost effective use of innovative techniques and solutions that utilize sustainable design principles in planning, construction, reconstruction, remodel or deconstruction and operation of Forest Service facilities or permitted facilities on National Forest System Lands.
•	Sustainable, “green” maintenance and operations of existing facilities, including collaborative partnerships where Forest Service facilities are under lease to a private or public entity.
•	Sustainable landscape site designs implemented or xeri-scaping projects completed.
•	Internal and/or external education component or public outreach program designed to promote green buildings and site design at a Forest Service site, facility or operation or that promotes partnerships with the surrounding community promoting green building and/or site design.

Electronic Stewardship
•	Programs, practices and procedures at a Forest Service facility which promote sustainable environmental stewardship of electronic assets in any one or all three lifecycle phases: acquisition and procurement; operation and maintenance; and end-of-life management practices in accordance with the Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) guidance criteria or an equivalent program.

Fleet and transportation
•	Programs, practices or procedures that result in significant alternative fuel use and fuel conservation measures in transportation (includes establishment of new alternative fuel infrastructure, methods for encouraging use of alternative fuels; ride sharing programs; increased vehicle usage efficiency programs; hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle acquisition and use or any other methods to reduce fleet petroleum consumption)
•	Internal outreach programs/projects or educational efforts designed to improve transportation and travel practices, increase operational and fuel efficiency and reduce use of non-renewable fuel. 

Extra points:
•	Collaborative implementation between ranger districts, Forests/Grasslands, Regions and/or other government agencies (Federal, state, county, city)
•	Integrated, collaborative efforts between multiple resource areas 
•	Money saved
•	People affected by the change
•	Educational value to the local community
•	Innovation in response to technical, logistical, financial or other hurdles (e.g., does it save or minimize something that already exists or does it allow more or new resources to replace a less “green” one?)   
•	Wide application (e.g., can it be implemented widely with a minimum of specialized equipment or knowledge?)
•	Cost effectiveness (e.g., does a 1% investment yield a 10% savings or 1.2% savings?)  

Nomination Procedures:
Each Forest/Grassland Supervisor or Regional Director may nominate up to two projects that have made outstanding contributions to reduce the Forest Service’s environmental footprint in the Northern Region.

In the RF’s Awards Nominations package, the nominator will explain how the nominee meets the above criteria in either one or multiple categories.  One page maximum for written narrative that clearly describes the accomplishments or actions of the nominee; still photos (2 pages max) , short videos (10 minutes or less), interactive computer media or 2-3 samples of educational/promotional literature may also be submitted as part of package.