All News Releases By Date

Burlington, Vermont Citizen Receives Prestigious Regional EPA Environmental Award

Release Date: 05/10/2011
Contact Information: EPA Office of Public Affairs, (617) 918-1010

(Boston, Mass. – May 10, 2011) – Martin Wolf of Seventh Generation in Burlington, Vermont will be honored tomorrow in Boston’s Faneuil Hall as part of EPA’s annual Environmental Merit Awards for 2011.

As director of product sustainability and authenticity at Seventh Generation in Burlington, Wolf brought lasting change to the cleansing products industry.  He developed frameworks for environmental product design, while educating co-workers, customers and consumers about the environmental impacts of such products.

In the last year, many of Wolf’s endeavors yielded results.  In June, the consumer goods industry voluntarily agreed to stop using phosphates in auto-dish washing products. Wolf testified in numerous states, stating that these products could be made effectively without phosphates; thus, influencing company decisions to provide voluntarily full ingredient disclosure.  He led the development of a product scorecard in 2010, which weighs environmental, cost and performance of a product and worked to educate adults and youth, presenting at international conferences as well as at local schools.

The Environmental Merit Awards recognize valuable contributions to environmental awareness and problem solving and are a unique way for EPA to recognize individuals and groups that are making significant impacts on environmental quality in distinct ways.

Awarded by EPA since 1970, they honor individuals and groups who have shown particular ingenuity and commitment in their efforts to preserve the region's environment. This year's competition drew 56 nominations from across New England.  Awards were given in the following categories: individual; business (including professional organizations); local, state or federal government; and environmental, community, academia or nonprofit organization. Each year, EPA also may present lifetime achievement awards for individuals.

More information on all Environmental Merit Award Winners from this year and past years is available at: https://www.epa.gov/region1/ra/ema/index.html

Follow EPA New England on Twitter: http://twitter.com/epanewengland