The South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SFLHCC) has awarded Miami-based Taptok the Good 2 Green award in recognition of its efforts to help reduce paper waste in the business card industry.

During the 'Green Planet Without Waste' lunch and panel discussion on Friday, August 19 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, the SFLHCC recognized Taptok's environmental leadership in their electronic business card technology and networking platform.

The event featured a panel discussion on local business and municipal sustainability efforts, moderated by Emmy award-winning news anchor Louis Aguirre of WPLG TV Miami, followed by the awards ceremony.

"We are honored to receive this award," said Taptok CEO Jaime Manteiga, "which recognizes our eco-responsible mission of developing innovative initiatives to waste."

Celebrating sustainability
Local representatives, including Diana Rodriguez Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator of Miami-Dade County, Michael Fernandez, Director of the Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management, who participated in the panel discussion. Special guest panelist Congressman Carlos Gimenez from Florida's 26th US congressional district provided a national perspective on sustainability.

Taptok sustainable solutions, such as the Electronic Business Card help businesses reduce the consumption of wood and water resources and saving the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with paper and print manufacturing.

Electronic Business Cards can replace thousands of paper business cards over the course of its lifetime. Instead of giving away a card (most of which are lost or thrown away) to every potential contact, a Taptok cardholder can simply tap the card against a smartphone or mobile device to instantly share their contact information.

Taptok was founded to transform the way people connect with their audience by using modern and sustainable solutions.

Reduction comes first
Guests of SFLHCC's sustainability lunch event got to see Taptok's flagship product - it's electronic businesses card - first hand, as all in attendance received a free card.

"Everyone fell in love with this card," said Michael Fernandez, who had seen the card at a previous recycling event, "there's a reduction [in waste] because you're using this card over and over again."

Fernandez, with years of experience in management and oversight of solid waste programs, was impressed with Taptok's efforts to reduce paper waste by providing electronic networking alternatives. He and Taptok recognize that of the three tenets of waste management – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Reduce is first on the list with good reason.

Fernandez also points out that, although traditional business cards are made of paper, they rarely get recycled because they often pass through recycling screens and end up in landfills – ending a wasteful lifecycle.

Taptok's sustainable vision doesn't end at minimizing paper waste, however. Earlier this year the young tech startup announced the transition of its servers onto Microsoft's Azure service, moving them closer to their goal of becoming 100% carbon neutral.

SFLHCC President Liliam Lopez was thrilled to partner with Taptok in distributing this environmentally friendly alternative to business cards at an event celebrating sustainability in the community.

She and Taptok see electronic business cards as a key aspect of future networking events, where the age-old tradition of swapping business cards evolves into a more modern, and sustainable, ritual… with just a tap.