Friday, March 29, 2024

New Jersey mobile app to report environmental issues earns AVA Digital Gold Award

The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals recently honored the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's app that allows residents to report non-emergency environmental issues from their smartphones or other mobile devices with an AVA Digital Gold Award.

The department introduced the WARN NJDEP app in November, available through Google Play, Apple app store and the Microsoft app store, that runs alongside the departments telephone hotline, the department said in a news release.

“The app allows users to provide essential information on the type of environmental incident, the date and time of the incident, whether it is ongoing, and a brief description of what happened,” the release said. “The app utilizes GPS technology for pinpoint location of environmental incidents and allows users to submit photos as part of their reports to the DEP.”

The AVA Digital Awards is an international competition that awards “outstanding achievement by creative professionals that work on conceptualization, direction, design and production of media that utilize digital arts, technology and information to engage target audiences,”  the news release said.

“On behalf of all of our staff who are out in our communities every day protecting the environment, we are very pleased to have been recognized for developing this innovative app, which allows residents to report non-emergency environmental issues directly from their smartphones or other mobile devices,” Bob Martin, New Jersey commissioner of environmental protection, said in the release. “This app is a demonstration of the (Gov. Chris) Christie administration’s ongoing efforts to engage the public as partners in strong environmental protection.”