This report highlights 46 North Bay professionals in various fields who have been leading development and implementation of environmentally sustainable technologies, such as solar electric and geothermal energy, erosion control for better stream water quality and energy-efficient construction.
(Listed alphabetically by last name.)
(Click here to see photo gallery.)
Doug Allard
Chief executive officer, KriStar Enterprises; 360 Sutton Pl., Santa Rosa 95407; 707-524-8181; www.kristar.com
Doug Allard has been on the forefront of controlling storm water erosion since he started KriStar Enterprises in 1993.
As federal and state regulations related to clean water and endangered species protection have increased, KriStar’s line of products designed to keep washed-away pollutants such as sediment and petrochemicals out of waterways broadened. At the height of the construction boom, KriStar had 40 percent market share for stormwater management products such as fiber roll and fabric bag filters.
In 2008, Mr. Allard formed Cudo Stormwater Systems as more water-quality regulators called for construction sites not only to have slower and cleaner storm water flow offsite but also to mimic the hydrological conditions of the site before construction, called low-impact development. Cudo Cube modular underground water-retention products include a tree-box cistern and a system for improving the sediment-sifting action of bioswales. ---Jeff Quackenbush
Lee Bartolomei
President, chief executive officer, Deposition Sciences Inc.; 3300 Coffey Ln., Santa Rosa 95403; 707-573-6700; www.depsci.com
Lee Bartolomei and optical coating company Deposition Sciences Inc. have been working on halogen lighting since the company was founded 25 years ago. Now, Philips Lighting and DSI are working together to meet the challenge of a probable ban on traditional incandescent bulbs.
According to Mr. Bartolomei, halogen bulbs give similar light to incandescent, but they last for two years and are twice as efficient. Also, they don’t contain mercury like compact fluorescent bulbs, making them much safer to dispose of.
Regular halogen lights produce 14 to 20 lumens per watt. Energy-saving halogen bulbs produce 24 to 28 lumens per watt currently. DSI is working to increase that number to 45, which is expected to be the mandated minimum in the United States by 2020.
Mr. Bartolomei, who received a master’s of science in mechanical engineering at U.C. Berkeley and an MBA from the University of Santa Clara, is the founder of DSI and has served as DSI’s president, CEO and chairman of the board since the company’s inception in 1985.
Mr. Bartolomei has 43 years of experience in the optical coating industry. He worked for Optical Coating Laboratory Inc. for nearly 20 years, holding the position of senior vice president of operations before he left to found DSI.
Mr. Bartolomei holds several patents for precision optical coatings, optical components and coating deposition processes. ---Loralee Stevens
Mike Benziger
Founder and estate winemaker, Benziger Family Winery; 1883 London Ranch Rd., Glen Ellen, 95442; www.benziger.com; 707-935-3000
Mike Benziger, 58, started the family down a nearly 30-year progression from conventional viticulture --- chemical growth, pest and weed control and ample use of fresh water --- to agricultural methods that use naturally occurring controls, such as beneficial insects and planetary motion, as well as water recycling and reduction in direct and indirect emissions of gases blamed for climate change. Conversion of vineyards to Biodynamic certification started in 1996 and was completed in 2000, and viticulture methods Benziger uses with its 50 growers were formalized into a sustainability certification program in 2005.
By 2007, all Benziger wines were certified sustainable, organic or Biodynamic. ---Jenna V. Loceff
Robert Boller
Vice president of sustainability and vice president of production estates, Jackson Family Wines; 1190 Kittyhawk Blvd., Santa Rosa, 95403; www.kj.com; 800-769-3649
Robert Boller has more than 22 years of wine business experience in a broad spectrum of positions split evenly between operations, marketing and sales. The last nine years at Jackson Family Wines include roles as vice president of sustainability, production and marketing. The prior four years were at Southcorp Wines, formally Australia’s largest wine company, as senior marketing manager of North and Latin America.
Over the last two-and-a-half years he’s developed and implemented the corporate responsibility program at Jackson. The platform is based on third party certifications from the LEED, ISO 14001 and Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW) standards and uses the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for accounting. Mr. Robert is a certified auditor for ISO and GRI.