The Environmental Protection Board Awards were established in 1975 to honor outstanding environmental accomplishments above the actions required by law. Awards may be presented in the following categories: industry; utilities;government facilities; institutions; the information media and individuals.

As population continues to grow and resources continue to be consumed, innovation will be the foothold to environmental sustainability. Over the years, winners of the awards have created many innovative solutions to what were previously pollution problems.

Previous award-winning accomplishments include:

- Turning a sewage treatment facility property into a bird sanctuary.

- Taking waste water and through land application, producing sod for commercial sale, while diverting over a million gallons of waste water from the municipal sewage treatment plant near by.

- Establishing a unique way of educating young students regarding water conservation by initiating a play which has grown to reach all the public elementary schools in Jacksonville.

- Taking steps to control beach erosion through the recycling of Christmas trees.

- Individuals taking note of their surroundings to report suspicious environmental activities which resulted in the arrest of an individual for illegal dumping of pesticides.

For many years, these awards were presented at a meeting of the Environmental Protection Board, with the Mayor or someone from his staff presiding over the presentation of awards. There was often media coverage of this event, but somehow the award winners did not seem to get the recognition they so richly deserved.

In 1993, the Environmental Protection Board Awards were elevated to a new level of distinction, by being presented at the Mayor's Environmental Luncheon. This luncheon is a community wide celebration of the efforts of all Jacksonville's government, business, community and individual efforts to protect, preserve and enhance our local environment.