The New Schneiderman - Socially Responsible Business Champion Nominees
Entrepreneurs for Sustainability
November 2004

• Mike Dungan
• Mike Dungan
• Pete Accorti *winner*
• Anjali Mathur
• John Schoeniger

Champion: Mike Dungan – Business Interiors and Environments, Inc.
(Nominated by: Cary Mathews – Business Interiors and Environments, Inc.)
I know that I am not the only one that would like to nominate my counterpart, Mike Dungan. He has been a leader in our organization to promote environmental sustainable practices that have now become one of our core values. He has championed the movement here in NE Ohio, and has brought our new BIE Cleveland facility to the forefront in showcasing environmental sustainable solutions to the workplace. I truly can think of no one better and I believe he should be recognized by this growing community of leaders and visionaries!

Champion: Mike Dungan – Business Interiors and Environments, Inc.
(Nominated by: Michael W. Challender - Lorain County Chamber of Commerce)
Michael Dungan, Vice President, Business Interiors and Environment, has embraced all aspects of sustainability and deserves to receive the first "Schneiderman Award for Socially Responsible Business". Mike attends every sustainability event in Northeast Ohio and financially supports many of these events.
Mike not only talks about, but also practices sustainability. This is demonstrated in the newly renovated office building BIE will soon move to. This building incorporates the ideas and practices of Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, reducing the negative impacts buildings have on the environment while providing a safe and comfortable environment for customers and employees.
Mike`s leadership, enthusiasm and dedication to the sustainability movement is sincere and infectious. Mike always introduces himself to new participants in E4S, making them comfortable at meetings while engaging them in sustainability discussions. As a result of Mike`s dedication, BIE has increased sales of Herman Miller and other office products. If all E4S members were as engaging as Mike Dungan, participation in E4S meetings would exceed the capacity of the Tasting Room at Great Lakes!

*winner* Champion: Peter J. Accorti - Talan Products *winner*
(Nominated by: John Colm - Westside Industrial Retention & Expansion Network, WIRE-Net)
Pete Accorti has been a champion of corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability practice, systems thinking, experimentation and learning in many spheres, including education, design, and business.
I know of his work primarily in the business sector due to my involvement with him as a former Board president and current board member of the Westside Industrial Retention & Expansion Network or WIRE-Net, a Cleveland based non-profit organization devoted to a manufacturing-based economic development strategy. In that capacity, Pete was a founding and active member of WIRE-Net’s Employment & Training Committee, and our Manufacturing Assistance Program, which leveraged existing social capital among progressive manufacturing firms on Cleveland’s west side. Pete was a founding member of the NE Ohio Manufacturing Awareness Council, and is co-chair of the NE Ohio Campaign for American Manufacturing, which advocates for policies to strengthen and enhance domestic-based manufacturing.
Pete was instrumental in forming WIRE-Net’s Manufacturing Assistance Program, which brought together formerly isolated members of NE Ohio’s manufacturing world into a community to learn from and with each other about important strategies to maintain and improve their competitiveness. MAP explored ways to reduce employee turnover, improve hiring practices of Generation X, pursue manufacturing excellence and other topics. The program continues today, and a pilot Learners Group has just finished its first year of work on manufacturing innovation.
Pete was also a champion of a unique effort that resulted in WIRE-Net sending its director of Manufacturing for a internship at the Rocky Mountain Institute. That director was Holly Harlan. As a result of that experience, Holly formed a groundbreaking Manufacturing Sustainability Learners Group with several local manufacturing business leaders from industries that included a metal stamper, plumbing products company, a major dairy and a paint company. Several of these began implementing Natural Capitalism principles explored by the Learners, and one just completed construction of a major green-built, LEED certified distribution center, constructed on a former urban brownfield.
Pete was also a founding member of Entrepreneurs for Sustainability, and a major force behind E4S’ recycling design competition. In his own company, Talan Products, Pete was a central force to build a community of employees and managers, and implemented Open Book Management to engage employees more directly in efforts to improve the financial performance of the organization. Talan has won many awards due in large part to Pete’s leadership. Talan has been a multi-year winner of the Enterprise 100, and the Inc Inner City 100.
Pete is a strong believer that US companies can improve their commitment to and results from a concerted focus on the triple bottom line of profit, employees and community. His work has truly been catalytic, and best of all, many of us believe we did it...not Pete. This is the true mark of a “servant leader”, when your followers believe they did it without you.

Champion: Anjali Mathur - Earth Day Coalition, Sustainable Cleveland Partnership
(Nominated by: Chris Trepal – Earth Day Coalition)
I would like to nominate Anjali Mathur, Director of Earth Day Coalition`s Sustainable Cleveland Partnership program. Anjali has dedicated every aspect of her work to sustainable development, environmental justice and community-based action. To be successful she has community groups, corporations and the government to sit at the table together to solve local environmental justice problems. Whether it is working locally in Cleveland or across the nation training community members on technical environmental regulations such as USEPA`s Title V air quality rules, helping municipalities and agencies learn what they can do to save energy or use renewables, or working with communities and businesses on good neighbor agreements to creatively solve local concerns, Anjali always brings her deep passion for equity, sustainability and the environment to the table.
Some examples of recent activities include:

• Working with the local community to bring Spanish translations of Ohio`s Fish Consumption Advisory to local health clinics and libraries. Worked with state and national organizations to develop statewide mercury reduction initiatives, including hair sampling of local women for mercury.
• Working with Lee-Seville-Miles neighborhood and CWRU School of Public Health to develop/conduct health surveys in the Lee-Seville Miles neighborhood.
• Neighborhood environmental audits of Lee Miles, Euclid Green, Hough, Glenville, Collinwood and other Cleveland neighborhoods.
• Participating in local and national forums such as the USEPA`s annual community involvement conference in Portland, OR and CSU`s recent Environmental Justice panel.

Champion: John Schoeniger – ShoreBank Cleveland
(Nominated by: Nan McIntyre – ShoreBank Enterprise Cleveland)
I would like to nominate John Schoeniger for “The Schneiderman” Socially Responsible Business Champion Award. I believe this award would be fitting recognition for many years of effort in the community and now in his position as Assistant Vice President and Project Manager for ShoreBank Cleveland. John`s passion comes from believing in Cleveland`s neighborhoods, both as a former resident in the Cleveland`s East Side and on-going activist in community and economic development organizations.
John is a long-time proponent of sustainability in the organization--one of ShoreBank`s intrapreneurs. His recent efforts within ShoreBank include leading development of new loan products and programs that will encourage implementation of healthy and high performance building practices in ways that will make real estate projects stronger while also creating a healthier living environment for residents in these buildings.
Perhaps as important are his efforts outside his normal duties where he works in the evening with small minority contractors trying to help them connect to opportunities of green building as well as encouraging landlords in the urban core to implement green building components in a way that will benefit both the owner as well as the tenants.
Prior to his position at the bank, John helped manage ShoreBank Enterprise`s business incubators located in the heart of the Glenville and Collinwood neighborhoods. With his construction background, John started incorporating energy efficiency efforts to both improve the organization`s bottom line as well as the comfort of the tenants.