2018 Banksia Sustainability Award finalists announced, global goals showcased
Marine protection, sharing economies, green buildings, Indigenous employment and climate action feature strongly in this year’s crop of Banksia Sustainability Awards finalists.
The Banksia Foundation today announced the shortlist for the awards, which spans 10 categories and celebrates businesses, communities, individuals and governments that are driving change.
The finalists include:
- An Indigenous enterprise giving unwanted office furniture a new life
- Beer drinkers raising funds for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef
- A film sharing the plight of our oceans with a global audience
- An online platform supporting collaboration on sustainability issues
- A share shed lending household items to its members.
Winners for each category will be announced at the Banksia Sustainability Awards gala ceremony in Melbourne on 29 November 2018, including the special Gold Award and Minister’s Award.
The Banksia Sustainability Awards are the longest-running sustainability awards in the world. To mark its 30th anniversary, the Banksia Foundation aligned the awards with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of global goals to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and protect the planet.
Graz van Egmond, Banksia Foundation CEO said entrants were encouraged to outline how they had contributed to one or more of the global goals.
“We’ve received entries covering a broad spectrum of social and environmental topics and it’s wonderful to see how these awards have become a barometer of Australia’s progress on these global goals.
“By embracing the global goals, we’re hoping to raise awareness of the SDGs and demonstrate how entrants are contributing to global issues.”
Winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in Melbourne on 29 November.
| Finalist | Project name | Description | Location |
| Small Business | |||
| Winya Indigenous Furniture | e-Board | Traditionally, 99% of office furniture goes to landfill. Winya Indigenous Furniture’s e-Board uses 92% recycled melamine, so that pre-loved office furniture can be repurposed for many new life cycles. | Winya, NSW |
| PonyUp for Good | PonyUp for Good | E-waste is the fastest-growing segment of waste. Female-owned and led social enterprise PonyUp for Good cleans, debadges and remarkets decommissioned technology and donates 50% of profits to food rescue service SecondBite. Its mission is to provide SecondBite 1 million meals by 2020. | VIC |
| Woolpack Ltd, Planet Protector Packaging
|
Planet Protector Packaging: The Sustainable Insulated Packaging Solution | Planet Protector Packaging (PPP) manufactures and assembles Woolcool, which is an environmentally responsible and high-performance insulated packaging solution that uses sheep belly wool (a waste product traditionally destined for landfill) to control package temperature. | NSW |
| Biome Eco Stores | Palm Oil Free Champions | The Biome team has long advocated against the environmental destruction caused by palm oil and in 2017, removed all products containing palm oil from its offering. The ethics and transparency principles justified this huge financial risk, which set off a chain reaction and prompted other influencing brands to forgo palm oil their products. | QLD |
| Allen Kong Architect | Allen Kong Architect | 40 years ago, Allen Kong collaborated with Syed Sibtain to rebuild a village in northern Afghanistan in the project Reconstruction Saighanchi. This project encapsulates all the UN SDGs to build resilience and better futures for the village’s residents, as well as prepare and manage climate change. | VIC |
| Crystal Creek Meadows | My Green Butler | My Green Butler is the world’s first smart guest service that encourages resource conservation. My Green Butler persuades guests to save energy by setting consumption targets, advising on suitable adaptive behaviours (e.g. natural ventilation) and recommending sustainable activities. | NSW |
| Medium Business | |||
| BioPak | BioPak’s Commitment to the Circular Economy | BioPak’s mission is to empower all businesses with a need for single-use takeaway packaging to switch to compostable packaging and take advantage composting infrastructure as part of sustainable business practices and a commitment to protect our wilflide and environment. | NSW |
| GlamCorner | GlamCorner | B Corp organisation GlamCorner is Australia’s leading online destination to rent designer dresses and curb ‘fast fashion’ culture by reducing individuals’ contribution to landfill. | NSW |
| Fun Over Fifty Pty Ltd | Fun Over Fifty | Fun Over Fifty (FOF) is a sustainability-focused luxury holiday tour company for travellers older than 50. It encourages travellers to adopt sustainable habits and participate in environmental and cultural activities. | QLD |
| Large Business | |||
| Officeworks
In partnership with |
Restoring Australia | The Restoring Australia initiative sees two trees planted for each one used, calculated using weight of paper-based products purchased at Officeworks. | VIC |
| Bank Australia
In partnership with and |
Bank Australia Conservation Reserve Ten Year Strategy ‘Reimagining the Future’ | In late 2017, Bank Australia announced an ambitious 10-year strategy for a Bank Australia Reserve. The strategy seeks to protect and support the reserve’s ecosystem into the future, embed Indigenous land management, revegetate the reserve and deliver value to staff and customers. | Melbourne, VIC |
| International Convention Centre Sydney | Feeding the Performance of Regional Communities | The International Convention Centre Sydney’s (ICC Sydney) Feeding Your Performance (FYP) program is a triple bottom line strategy with a suite of initiatives to tackle enonomic, social and environmental sustainability. | Sydney, NSW |
| Sodexo | Sodexo Australia Better Tomorrow 2025 | Sodexo uses its Better Tomorrow 2025 (BT2025) Corporate Responsibility roadmap to implement initiatives to promote gender equality, fight hunger and malnutrition, and reduce waste. | WA |
| Community | |||
| Share Shed Inc | Queensland’s First Library of Things: better for the planet, better for our wallets and better for our communities. | Share Shed is a Brisbane-based ‘Library of Things’ full of useful items for members to borrow for a subscription fee of $80 per year. | Brisbane, QLD |
| Repair Cafe Perth | SM | Perth-based ‘repair cafes’ encourage community members to bring in broken household items for skilled, onsite volunteers to repair free of charge. | Perth, WA |
| Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness
in partnership with |
The NatureMapr Network | The NatureMapr Network is a tool that invites citizens to assist biodiversity mapping in Australia. The app has become a useful resource for environmental groups, government, council and biodiversity experts. | NSW |
| K2W Partnership
in partnership with |
K2W Glideways | The Kanangra-Boyd to Wyangala Link (K2W ) is a community-led initiative to conserve natural habitats across the Abercrombie River corridor, from the Greater Blue Mountains to the Central Tablelands in NSW. | NSW |
| Ubegin | uBegin.com enabling Australia wide collaboration and action for the Sustainable Development Goals | uBegin.com is an online platform that facilitates resource-sharing and collaboration among different networks and organisations to drive positive change on a local and international scale. | NSW |
| Indigenous | |||
| Winya Indigenous Furniture | e-Board | Traditionally, 99% of office furniture goes to landfill. Winya Indigenous Furniture’s e-Board uses 92% recycled melamine, so that pre-loved office furniture can be repurposed for many new life cycles. | Winya, NSW |
| Warddeken Land Management Ltd | Warddeken Land Management Limited: Revitalising Remote West Arnhem | Warddeken Land Management is an entirely Indigenous-owned non-profit environmental and social enterprise that works in biodiversity protection and sustainability projects to better its community. | Warddeken, NT |
| Sodexo | Boosting Indigenous Engagement & Employment | Sodexo pursues social change for Indigenous Australians to add value to its community. It has introduced a Reconciliation Action Plan and partnered with the Australian Federal Government to boost Indigenous employment within the organisation. | WA |
| Government | |||
| Lord Howe Island Board | Lord Howe Island Board – Protecting Paradise | The Board of World Heritage-listed Lord Howe Island has taken a holistic approach to sustainability, which includes a tourist bed cap of 400, unique biodiversity safeguards and a world-class waste treatment system that diverts 86% of island waste from landfill. | Lord Howe Island, NSW |
| Melbourne Water | Making every drop count – harnessing hydroelectricity from Melbourne’s water supply | Melbourne Water assessed the potential for hydroelectric generation across its network and developed a delivery model that saw 12 plants installed over the past 10 years, which now generate enough hydroelectricity to power 14,100 homes. | Melbourne, VIC |
| Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra Councils | Solar my School – Powering local schools with sunshine | Council-led initiative Solar my School aims to arm primary and seconday schools in eastern Sydney with the knowledge, support and resources to reap the benefits of ‘going solar’. | Sydney, NSW |
| Randwick City Council | Sustaining our City initiative – 15 years strong! | For the past 15 years, residents and councillors of Randwick in eastern Sydney have consented to a 6% environmental levy to be put toward restoration, sustainability improvements and conservation projects in the community. | Sydney, NSW |
| Tasmanian Climate Change Office | Tasmania – Climate Neutral Now | Tasmanian Climate Change Office (TCCO) has worked with the community, industry, government agencies and other key stakeholders across a number of climate change initiatives, which have seen Tasmania become the frist Australian jurisdiction to achieve zero net emmissions. | TAS |
| Brisbane City Council | Brisbane City Council ‘Carbon Neutral Council’ | Brisbane City Council achieved carbon neutral status in 2017 by launching community composting hubs, providing eco-training to community workers and retrofitting energy-saving technology to existing infrastructure. | Brisbane, QLD |
| NTP & NGO | |||
| The Mulloon Institute | The Mulloon Institute | Non-profit The Mulloon Institute is pursuing the measurable restoration of a NSW water catchment to benefit surrounding wildlife and natural environments, farming resources and society. To this end, The Mulloon Community Landscape Rehydration Project (MCLRP) aims to rebuild the Mulloon catchment’s natural landscape function and boost its resilience to climatic extremes. | NSW |
| Green Building Council of Australia | Green Star by Green Building Council of Australia | The Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA) Green Star initiative is Australia’s only comprehensive environmental rating scheme that sets the standard for the design, construction and ongoing operation of buildings and communities. The standards promote the adoption of sustainable building practices and technologies for smarter buildings. | NSW |
| Tangaroa Blue Foundation | Tangaroa Blue Foundation and the Australian Marine Debris Initiative | Non-profit Tangaroa Blue Foundation (TBF) is dedicated to removing marine debris, which is a major global environmental problem. The Foundation’s overarching mission is to prevent litter in the first place and raise awareness about its impact on vulnerable marine ecosystems. | QLD |
| Research & Academia | |||
| SDSN Australia, NZ & Pacific
In partnership with |
Getting Started with the SDGs in Universities | In August 2017, SDSN Australia, NZ & Pacific and ACTS collaborated on the publication of the first practical guide to SDGs aimed at universities. The giude was designed to leverage universities’ unique position to implement SDGs effectively and to raise awareness around them. | VIC |
| Greening Australia
In partnership with |
Greening Australia and UTAS partnership for Tasmania Island Ark | Greening Australia is collaborating with University of Tasmania on the major Tasmanian Island Ark program, which aims to rebuild more than 6000ha of habitat for Tasmanian wildlife, leverage $32 million in investment by 2032, and engage students across different disciplines through the new Centre for Forest Value. | TAS |
| Monash Sustainable Development Institute | Monash Sustainable Development Institute | Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) is a platform for collaboration among educators, learners, experts and key government and industry players who are passionate about improving the planet. The platform uses the SDGs as a guide for all its business and academic practices. | Vic |
| Media | |||
| Guardian Australia | Guardian Australia ‘Our Wide Brown Land’ | In January 2018, Guardian Australia launched an Australia-first crowd-funding campaign dedicated to environmental journalism: ‘Our Wide Brown Land’. | NSW |
| BLUE The Film | Blue The Film | BLUE is an environmental film that conveys the importance of marine parks, sustainable fishing practices and managing waster in coastal regions to protect our most precious resource. | NSW |
| Individual | |||
| Teaspoons of Change | d’Arcy Lunn | d’Arcy Lunn’s ‘Teaspoons of Change’ are small actions that provoke important, far-reaching change. Lunn tours the world encouraging audiences to contemplate the small decisions we make on a daily basis and how the consequences of these decisions manifest in our world. | SA |
| Minister’s Award for the Environment | |||
| Good Beer Pty Ltd Trading as The Good Beer Co.
In partnership with |
Great Barrier Beer | Great Barrier Beer is a partnership between The Good Beer Co and the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) that aims to raise funds and awareness for AMCS through sales of Great Barrier Beer across 250 Australian outlets. | QLD |
| Greening Australia | Reef Aid | Greening Australia’s Reef Aid initiative aims to restore 1,000 hectares of priority coastal wetlands and 2,000 hectares of land susceptible to erosion by 2030. | QLD |
| Jaragun Pty Ltd | Wetlands and water quality for the Great Barrier Reef | Over the past five years, Jaragun NRM has targeted investment, commissioned studies, undertaken a technology trial, and established strategic partnerships to develop a Russell Catchment Water Quality and Landscape Restoration Plan to meet targets of the Reef 2050 Plan. | QLD |