The Green Workplace Awards ("GWAs") were formally announced during Greenrock's Earth Hour public gathering held the evening of Saturday, March 26 at City Hall.
Greenrock will be accepting GWA entries (statements of intent) from small and large businesses in the following categories: Tenants, Owner/Occupier, Building Manager, Hospitality, Retail and Other. The statements of intent must be submitted on or before Friday, April 29, with final submissions, including performance data, to be submitted on or before Friday, July 15.
In addition, a "Green Champion" category will be part of the GWAs, recognizing an individual who has put in outstanding effort to reduce the environmental impact of their company. Persons nominated for this category must be submitted on or before Thursday, June 30.
The GWAs entry form is available from Greenrock's website at www.greenrock.org.
The awards concept was born from the charity's Green Building Forum, during which participating companies expressed a desire for businesses to be acknowledged for their sustainable and environmental actions, and to inspire others to do the same.
Greenrock Management Committee member Dr. Judith Landsberg, who heads the charity's Green Building Forum, Green Office Project and Green School Project, explained: "The Green Building Forum brings together many different types of companies who share their ideas with one another. We felt it was time to start highlighting the small and large steps that they are taking in these areas. We're proud to announce the Green Workplace Awards for businesses who are truly making the effort to examine their 'green' practices and improve upon them."
Dr. Landsberg added: "The key message here is that small steps are just as significant in this process. We've heard examples of large and small companies who decide to take measures such as eliminating plastic cups and bottles, moving away from paper billing and sending e-statements instead, to businesses installing GPS on service trucks to track fuel usage and cut down on driving time on the roads."
Following the entry deadline, businesses will undergo a performance period from May until mid-July to compile and submit information demonstrating efforts of reduced energy consumption and other 'green' behaviours in the workplace. Winners will be selected by a judging panel in August and featured in the November issue of The Bottom Line.
Entry criteria includes companies writing a brief narrative about their efforts in the categories of Environmental Impact (e.g. electricity and water usage, recyclables, reduction in energy bills), Green Policies (e.g. green cleaning products, indoor air quality/healthy building policies) and Office Initiatives (e.g. projects in the areas of innovation, education and community support).
Greenrock President Andrew Vaucrosson commented: "We feel these awards are an important step in highlighting to our community what measures can be taken to reduce energy consumption and other sustainability practices. I'd like to thank Judith and the Green Building Forum for bringing this idea to life."
Mr. Vaucrosson added: "Many of these practices can also be adopted at home. Greenrock's aim is to get people to recognize and shift away from their old habits to embrace new ones which support healthier, happier and more sustainable lifestyles for everyone. We think the Green Workplace Awards will be a key part to this process."
