Congratulations to the winners of the Giant Green Business Awards 2009! The winners were presented with their prizes by BBC TV presenter Chris Packham at an event at Kings Place on 13 October.
The Giant Green Business Awards, which are run each year by Islington Council, celebrate the achievements of Islington-based organisations and individuals who are committed to doing their bit to safeguard the environment. The members of this year’s judging panel were Wendy Baverstock (Groundwork), Bob Gilbert (Islington Council), Albert Berchie (Business Link), Natasha Harris (Aardvark Recycling), Rabih El Fadel (ZEF Ltd) and John Murray (Enterprise).
Chris Packham commented on the night: "I would like to champion the fact that so many businesses, large and small, have done so much." he said. "The role of business is incredibly important to the sustainability of any community. The fact that they are on board and actively involved is absolutely brilliant. And this has been maintained at a time when we are in the grip of a recession."
Find a list of all the winners below:
Small business: Aflorum Ltd
Aflorum were awarded the prize for adopting sustainable standards from the very outset of their operation, especially the purchase of a zero emissions van for all local deliveries.
Medium/large business: Kier Islington
Kier were awarded this prize for a comprehensive and very detailed approach to cutting the impact of their fleet which looked at everything from workplace planning that located jobs close to operatives homes through to reducing fuel consumption by a close regulation of the weight of loads carried on their vehicles.
Small business: Hopes and Dreams Montessori Nursery School
Hope and Dreams are a nursery school who impressed the judges with their all-round efforts to increase recycling and minimise waste, extending into every area of their work and providing the additional opportunity to educate the next generation in waste minimisation.
Medium/large business: Pollard Thomas Edwards Architects
Pollard Thomas Edwards had produced clear and convincing evidence of a thorough waste minimisation scheme, with clear allocation of responsibilities, that identified and acted upon every area of waste in their business.
Small business: Highbury Builders Collective
The Highbury Builders Collective were awarded this prize for their innovative project designing and supplying Micro Food Farms –a vertical growing scheme- to local schools and community groups thus enabling them to tackle the problem of food growing in limited space.
Medium/large business: Waitrose: Holloway Road
In another particularly strong category, Waitrose were awarded the prize for a wide range of innovations to reduce emissions from their fleet and for setting an example for other large retailers to follow. These consisted of both changes to their operations nationally and local innovations such as loaning bicycle trailers to customers.
Overall Winner: St Luke’s Centre
This new award for was an entry greening the physical environment through biodiversity improvements to buildings, through growing schemes or gardening projects or through green roofs or other innovations. St.Luke’s had provided an exemplar project which successfully engaged the local community in food growing projects in an area converted from a car-park, demonstrating innovative use of limited resources and bringing the benefits of food growing to an urban area.
Small business: Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association
The award to Islington and Shoreditch was based on their work to cut emissions within their own buildings, for instance by the installation of solar PV on their office roof, but also on their extensive engagements with their tenants in order to demonstrate the links between carbon reduction and cost savings.
Medium/large business: Jurys Inn
In a field of very strong entries, the judges awarded this prize to Jury’s Inn for their comprehensive and holistic approach to carbon reduction. Within a traditionally difficult industry for emissions control they had overhauled their own operations whilst encouraging staff and guests to become part of the process.
Highly commended: Aedas
The Judges also highly commended Aedas, amongst a particularly strong field of entries in the large businesses CO2 reduction category, for their development and promotion of ‘in use’ monitoring of CO2 emissions of buildings. They have shown commitment to ensuring their designs are low-emitting once occupied as well as during construction.
Small business: Silverfish Media
The judges were impressed by the work undertaken by sustainability champions within this small organisation to achieve a real decrease in transport emissions within a highly competitive industry that relies heavily on staff travel.
Medium/large business: Workspace Group
The judges were particularly impressed by the leadership shown within this organisation in taking on responsibility for energy reduction and increased recycling in the difficult context of a multi-tenanted building. Workspace have shown a detailed and thorough approach whilst engaging with, and inspiring, their tenants.
Winner: Unpackaged
This award is new for 2009 and is voted for by Islington residents. The 10 category winners from 2008 made up the shortlist and we received over 150 votes.
Small business: St Luke’s Centre
Medium/large business: Jurys Inn
Judges' Special Award: Bere: architects
Having scrutinised the entries in all categories the judges decided they wanted to make a special award to Bere Architects for their achievement across a range of competition categories. They have shown initiative and innovation in providing a local site that is also a national exemplar. They have turned their office into a test centre for sustainability as well as showing how an urban building can contribute to local biodiversity, and simultaneously have reached out to their local community, running a series of seminars for local groups to spread good practice in green building.
Judges' special commendation: Solar Aid
The judges wished to recognise the innovative work of an Islington- based charity, Solar Aid. Whilst they were short-listed in a number of categories, the judges wished to particularly commend their carbon reduction work in East Africa, replacing high-emitting kerosene lamps and diesel generators with solar technology.
Page Last Updated: 26 November 2009