Thursday night, Sustainable North Carolina (SNC) gave awards to groups and individuals that advance sustainability in our state. Click on the names of this year's award winners to find out more about the great work they are doing!
The first three awards go to businesses:
The Triple Bottom Line award is for a company that successfully integrates social, environmental, and economic objectives. The winner is SAS. For their many constructive efforts, we applaud this company, that built a one-megawatt solar farm, generating 1.7 million kilowatt hours per year, using "sheep to maintain the grass for the array." This year, the company also offered its SAS Curriculum Pathways free to educators and students in grades 8-14 for schools in the United States. Thank you!
Entrepreneurship recognizes Riley Life Industries, a small business that demonstrates a positive impact on its employees, community and environment.
The Innovation award goes to BreezePlay. Their energy management systems can be useful for individuals, communities, and energy providers.
The Catalyst award is given to non-profits, government agencies and educational institutions for outreach initiatives that have broad positive impact. This year the two winners are Central Piedmont Community College and Natural Capital Investment Fund.
More winning categories provided additional recognition for nominees. The Champions award recognized efforts for advancing sustainable “triple bottom line” approaches in our state’s businesses and institutions, and was presented to Patricia Johnson, City of Gastonia; and Eric Henry, T.S. Designs. Walking Fish/Duke University was selected for the new SparK Award for the most inspiring finalist.
For the event, they also asked three local caterers for culinary creations. Square Rabbit, Green Planet Catering and Kaplan Catering accepted the challenge, using organic and local foods. The audience chose Green Planet Catering as the winner for the Chefs Sustainability Challenge this year.
Congratulations to all the winners, and all the nominees for your work. Thanks so much to SNC, for creatively linking economic prosperity, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship together. For complete results, see 2009 Finalists and Winners.
