Entries Accepted: ‘Green Workplace Awards’
Greenrock unveiled the first annual “Green Workplace Awards” in partnership with The Bottom Line magazine to recognize large and small businesses for their environmental and sustainability efforts – the first of its kind for Bermuda.
The Green Workplace Awards [GWAs] were formally announced during Greenrock’s Earth Hour public gathering held last night [Mar.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 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.”
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Category: All, Environment
Yesterday’s Let’s Talk had an excellent point: The tucker’s point SDO got lots of community backing, hype, and campaigns for the environment from Greenrock and the like, but it’s hard to get the same reaction from the members of these earth conscious groups and business community when it comes to helping people. Yes the envioronment is important but isn’t the killings, family dysfunction, and breaking down of our communities worthy of more of their time? WTH!!! Community action and business awards are getting more press on tree and cave protection then solutions or action for social cohesion? and helping my grown neighbor who was sexually molested and still suffering from the effects and the kids down the street who eat at everyone else’s house cause their mother is struggling with bills but makes too much for financial assistance? I care more about avoiding my unemployed, excon, money askin father and my angry domineering mother, wish I could afford to buy a home for me and my kids and help them get over the pain from having an alcoholic father. Help me and then maybe I’ll be more likely to help you protect the earth. Businesses should be awarded for REAL community givebacks….helping the REAL PEOPLE issues in the community where they set up shop….
Look, you and others are not even making sense.
Read carefully so you and all the others can comprehend this.
People are PROTESTING a piece of LEGISLATION which is the WHOLE POINT of a protest. It is SPECIFIC for LEGISLATION. Nothing you state above about your personal life has ANYTHING to do with PROTESTING LEGISLATION. Their are MANY people involved in the community and what you need to understand my friend is as long as people are helping the future of this island by VOLUNTEERING TIME, YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL. It is unbelievable to me that people would bitch and complain about people trying to help because it is not the cause you want them to help, only in Bermudian society would such backward thinking be so prevalent. Could you please tell me WHAT PIECE OF LEGISLATION we should be protesting that has any affect on crime and violence? Their really isn’t anything to protest in regard to that subject matter. Their are certainly other ways people can help out the community in regard to crime and violence. And furthermore as long as mothers, girlfriends, and grandmothers are aware their relatives are involved with gangs and aren’t doing anything about it, THERE IS NOTHING anyone else can do for them either as the behavior is being enabled.
Another thing people quickly forget is that HUMANS HAVE FREE WILL. They will do what they want to do and there really isn’t anything anyone can do to stop a grown adult from doing what they want to do!!! The environment and animals DON’T have free will because every chance we HUMANS get we are destroying them, which is NOT surprising being that we destroy OURSELVES and other humans on a regular basis. And the last thing, PROTESTING LEGISLATION has nothing to do with MONEY. So there isn’t money being tossed around that could be given to you and your family. I am sorry for your struggles, but in this world we all have them and I would suggest you take your concerns to the government you voted into power or perhaps get some assistance from one of the many volunteer organizations that help out the community. And so you know, the environment that we pillage and plunder that in return only tries to sustain us, IS A REAL PEOPLE ISSUE, perhaps that is what you don’t understand. Clean water, clean air, oxygen, food IS A REAL PEOPLE ISSUE. People like you take it so much for granted that you can’t even comprehend why it is an important issue. At the end of the day when are people going to take responsibility for their own lives? If someone needs physiological help, then the assistance is there as I know many that work for this community service. IF one DOES NOT WANT HELP, THERE IS NOTHING THAT ANYONE CAN DO. Personal responsibility is a real problem here in Bermuda. Having a child and taking physical and emotional care of it a PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. And nobody ever said life was fair, but we must all do the best we can. We MUST STOP ENABLING our men that act like children!!!!