Focal Pointe is proud to support and participate in the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, a program of the Missouri Botanical Garden that recognizes organizations for their ongoing performance in sustainability. Initiated in 2010, in partnership with the St. Louis Regional Chamber, the Challenge brings together a broad business network of companies committed to green policy and practice. Focal Pointe has been a sponsor company since 2017, and has attained the level of Challenge Leader.
In 2024, highlights of our accomplishments in sustainability included:
-Installing green infrastructure and nature-inspired playscapes/outdoor classrooms for local schools.
-Receiving the Ralph Wafer Environmentally Sustainable Business Award from the Missouri Coalition for the Environment for native plant installations.
-Installing 46,148 plants in 2024, with 65% representing native plants and 180 native species.
-Expanding and continuing our stewardship of the Edward Jones prairie which received a silver award of excellence for erosion control/ecological restoration from National Association of Landscape Professionals.
-Partnering with the Landscape and Nursery Association of Greater St. Louis to remove invasive species and overgrowth from gravesites at Washington Park Cemetery.
-Earning Native Plant Certification through our membership in Grow Native, a non-profit program of the Missouri Prairie Foundation that advocates for greater use of native plants throughout the Midwest.
-Installing three green roofs, ten biobasins, and over 10,000 sf of permeable paving.
-Converting 16-acres of old building site, parking lot and turfgrass to a reconstructed native prairie.
-Converting 188 irrigation clocks to Weathermatic smart controllers, resulting in an estimated 20% reduction in water use for St. Louis businesses.

L-R: Focal Pointe account manager, Cody Azotea and Jean Ponzi, Green Resource Manager with EarthWays Center of Missouri Botanical Garden.

Angel Colorado Hernandez, irrigation technician at WashU, hauls out overgrowth covering gravesites at Washington Park Cemetery during our 2024 Community Volunteer Day.

Members of the Focal Pointe Green Team with The Ralph Wafer Environmentally Sustainable Award. L-R: Matt Hagemann, landscape designer, Hazelwood; Quinn Bress, project manager, Caseyville; Tave Hollins contract administrator at LEED-Platinum WashU; and Dan Schaefer, account manager, Hazelwood.
To learn more about the St. Louis Green Business Challenge and its partners, go to: https://stlouisgreenchallenge.com