HOTEL mogul Gordon “Butch” Stewart and his Sandals Group were among the agencies and individuals awarded on Monday night for their contributions to the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) over the years.

They were awarded as part of the celebratory activities for JET’s 15-year anniversary. JET is a non-government, not-for-profit environmental advocacy group founded in 1991 by its executive director, Diana McCaulay.

The Sandals Group was awarded for its outstanding corporate support, as was Errol T Ziadie and NEM Insurance, Wayne McKenzie and Jamaica Energy Partners as well as Sharon Donaldson and General Accident Insurance.

Other awardees included the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica, which was recognised as the most outstanding donor, and Chris Blackwell, who was recognised as the most generous individual donor.

Outstanding public sector awards went to Basil Fernandez and Gina Sanguinetti Phillips of the Water Resources Authority and the National Environmental Education Committee respectively.

Dennis Morrison QC, who represented JET and the other applicants in the controversial Pear Tree Bottom case, was awarded for outstanding legal advice while outstanding support from the media went to Dionne Jackson Miller of the RJR Communication Group.

Meanwhile, Aldane Maragh was recognised for extraordinary student leadership and Richard and Jean Riley for their outstanding membership with the agency.

The presentations were made ahead of the showing of former United States presidential candidate Al Gore’s feature documentary film on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, at the Carib 5 Cinema in Kingston.

JET’s achievements to date include the much-publicised judicial review of the environmental application process of the state-run National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) concerning the Spanish Pinero Group’s hotel development in Pear Tree Bottom, St Ann.

While the hotel has been allowed to complete its construction, the review raised a red flag as to NEPA’s application process and the need for improvements. The state agency is currently reviewing their procedures with a view to implementing a series of improvements.