State Sen. Fran Pavley (DSanta Monica) presented Sustainability awards in May and June to organizations that have given top priority to the environment.

In May Pavley recognized Point Dume Marine Science School in Malibu; Earth Island, a solarpowered facility for vegetarian products; and the Calabasas Civic Center.

The marine science school recently installed solar panels on one of its buildings. The panels will generate enough power to prevent almost 11,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

Earth Island is the manufacturing arm of Follow Your Heart vegetarian foods. Its production facility in Chatsworth is completely solar-powered.

The recently completed Calabasas Civic Center is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold-standard facility.

In June, the Sustainability Award went to Suntricity, a Pacific Palisades solar panel company that recently installed $400,000 worth of panels on a North Hollywood apartment complex.

"Greening our homes, businesses, schools and government offices is a huge step toward reducing our carbon footprint and being more environmentally responsible," Pavley said. "These award winners are true role models."