39 award-worthy sustainability ideas announced
Finalists have been announced for the 2017 Banksia Sustainability Awards, the world’s longest running and most prestigious Australian sustainability awards covering 11 categories from Large Business Sustainability through to Sustainable Cities and Indigenous Leadership.
Banksia Foundation CEO Graz van Egmond said. “The judges were delighted to review such diverse and disruptive thinking high-quality projects.”
“This year has been challenging yet exciting to judge a wide range of extremely competitive entrants, but we were able to narrow down the list to 39 finalists across 11 categories.”
Entrants were nominated for a range of topics from socially and environmentally sound furniture (Winya) through to beer produced to environmental and social standards (Stone & Wood Brewing Co). And making an appearance to disrupt the energy market is Eden, producing world-first nano-filtration devices which provide low cost, off-grid energy solutions.
The prestigious awards are run by the Banksia Foundation, which has been bringing together the most innovative and effective people in sustainability in Australia for 29 years and are Australia’s leading sustainability awards and the longest running Awards of this nature in the world.
Winners are announced at the awards night in November – a thriving hub of ideas, excitement and purpose. Attending the event to be inspired by this year’s outstanding sustainability leaders is an opportunity of cross-pollination in the sustainability community. Plus, each finalist gets the chance to pitch their ideas to the audience. Tickets for both the Finalist Insights and the Award Presentation Gala Dinner are open to the public, find them here.
Media contact: Leeanne Rodgers 03 9684 4664
About Banksia Sustainability Awards
From their conception 29 years ago, the Banksia Sustainability Awards have become the most prestigious sustainability awards in Australia, inspiring excellence across all sectors of sustainability.
The Banksia Sustainability Awards is a platform that brings together and celebrates the most innovative, effective and outstanding people contributing to improving Australia’s sustainability and elevates and encourages their ongoing involvement.
Winners of the Banksia Sustainability Awards will be announced at the Award Presentation on 1 November at Doltone House, Darling Island Wharf, 48 Pirrama Road, Sydney. Find ticketing information here. Finalists Insights will also be held on November 1 and will be hosted by EY in Sydney, 200 George St, Sydney. Find ticketing information here.
Full list of finalists
| Category | Entry | About |
| Communication for Change | Paintback: Transforming a colourful past into a brighter future in collaboration with | Paintback, an innovative scheme to keep unwanted paint out of landfill and away from Australia’s waterways. |
| Communication for Change | Low Carbon, High Performance (Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council in collaboration with ClimateWorks Australia) | How buildings can make a major contribution to Australia’s emissions and productivity goals |
| Communication for Change | Australian Opportunity for ICT Enabled Emissions Reduction (Fujitsu Australia and Telstra) | Using the power of ICT to reduce Australian emissions by 27% by 2030 |
| Communication for Change | Tiny Trowel | Tiny Trowel collaborates with organizations with a vision to create communities around organic food sources. |
| Communication for Change | War On Waste (KEO Films Australia) | A provocative, controversial documentary series that uncovers how much waste we produce as a nation |
| Food for Sustainable Thought | Cullen Wines | Cullen Wines, certified biodynamic, carbon neutral, naturally powered and sustainable. |
| Food for Sustainable Thought | Bellis, Brisbane’s Sustainable House and Garden (BELLIS) | Bellis, Brisbane’s sustainable house and garden: food production in a continually surprising climate. |
| Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability | Arnhem Chair (Winya Indigenous Furniture Pty Ltd) | The most socio-environmental focused furniture in Australia. |
| Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability | Creating community benefits in the Kimberley (Water Corporation) | Recycled water creates social and economic benefits for the Kimberley community. |
| Indigenous Leadership for Sustainability | Managing Country Together (Parks Victoria) | Managing Country Together is Parks Victoria’s innovative program of engaging Traditional Owners in managing Country. |
| Large Business Sustainability Leadership | The wisdom of respectfully knowing how to live well, in a world worth living in. (Charles Sturt University) | The wisdom of respectfully knowing how to live well, in a world worth living in. |
| Large Business Sustainability Leadership | AccorHotels Australia | Driving Positive Hospitality, creating sustainable connections, embracing and educating our 6 million guests each year. |
| Large Business Sustainability Leadership | LUSH Cosmetics (LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics) | LUSH believes in standing up for animal welfare, environmental protection and supporting human rights. |
| Large Business Sustainability Leadership | Country Road Group’s Good Business Journey (Country Road Group) | The Country Road Group is on a ‘Good Business Journey’ to become the most sustainable retailer in southern hemisphere. |
| Leadership in the Circular Economy | Yarra Valley Water – Converting Waste to Energy (Yarra Valley Water) | Organic waste destined for landfill is being turned into energy at Yarra Valley Water. |
| Leadership in the Circular Economy | Compost Revolution in collaboration with Waverley, Randwick and Woollahra Councils (Revolution Apps Pty Ltd) | The Compost Revolution partners with councils to scale up home organics recovery through home composting. |
| Leadership in the Circular Economy | Recovering value from hospital plastic (Vinyl Council of Australia) | Hospital PVC plastic normally goes to landfill. This world-leading program cycles it back into product. |
| Leadership in the Circular Economy | Make It Australian Recycled (Planet Ark Environmental Foundation in collaboration with Australian Paper) | Recycling paper is only half the job, buying recycled paper back is just as important. |
| Leadership in the Circular Economy | CHEP Australia: Profit and Planet through a Share and Reuse Business Model (CHEP Australia) | CHEP’s business model converges the circular and sharing economies. creating more sustainable supply chains. |
| Natural Capital | Murray-Darling Basin Balanced Water Fund (The Nature Conservancy Australia) | Rethinking water for a thirsty continent. |
| Natural Capital | GreenCollar – Carbon and Reef Markets (GreenCollar Group) | Reducing carbon emissions on a massive scale, improving water quality and helping protect the Great Barrier Reef. |
| Small to Medium Business Sustainability Leadership | Austral Fisheries (Austral Fisheries Pty Ltd) | We care – our seafood is sustainable, healthy, and carbon neutral. |
| Small to Medium Business Sustainability Leadership | Creating An Energy Market for the People (Energy for the People) | Energy for the People provides independent, clean energy services. It’s aim is to leverage the great energy market transition from centralised, fossil fuel generation to distributed clean energy for the benefit of communities. |
| Small to Medium Business Sustainability Leadership | Good Beer is Our Thing (Stone & Wood Brewing Co.) | At Stone & Wood we are committed to taking care of the earth that sustains us. Our business ethos is to be the ‘Village Brewery’, where we are an integral part of, and consciously provide a wider benefit to, our key communities. |
| Smart Award | The Dresden glasses system: disruptive and equitable (Dresden Optics) | The Dresden glasses system: disruptive, equitable and sustainable. |
| Smart Award | The De Bortoli Method (De Bortoli Wines) | De Bortoli Wines – Working Towards Zero Waste. |
| Smart Award | Sundrop Farms | Sundrop is a leader in sustainable agriculture growing fresh fruits and vegetables using renewable inputs. |
| Smart Award | Revolutionary, off-grid, nanotechnology thin-film solar energy production, energy storage and nano-filtration. (Eden BDM) | Review , off-grid, nanotechnology thin-film solar energy production, energy storage and nano-filtration. |
| Sustainable & Resilient Communities | Reaching 100% with Australia’s First Commercially Operating Community Mini Grid (Totally Renewable Yackandanda in collaboration with AusNet Services) | The Yackandandah community has a history of achieving ambitious community goals. With the support of the volunteer community group Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY) it has now set itself the task of generating 100% of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2022. |
| Sustainable & Resilient Communities | AMDI Sustainable Communities (Tangaroa Blue Foundation) | Community partnerships turning the tide against marine debris. |
| Sustainable & Resilient Communities | City of Onkaparinga Urban Creek Recovery Project (City of Onkaparinga) | ‘Creek Heroes’ are saving the day by restoring watercourses and re-connecting people with nature. |
| Sustainable & Resilient Communities | Low Carbon, High Performance (Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council in collaboration with ClimateWorks Australia) | |
| Sustainable Cities | Sunshine Coast Council | Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve Rainforest Discovery Centre is the pinnacle of environmental education and conservation. |
| Sustainable Cities | Fitzroy Gardens Redevelopment (City of Melbourne) | An integrated design-led approach to sustainability, education and public realm expansion. |
| Sustainable Cities | Sunshine Coast Council Beerwah Depot (Sunshine Coast Regional Council) | Beerwah Depot – bespoke, sustainable and built for purpose. |
| Minister’s Award for the Environment | Austral Fisheries – Minister’s Award for the Environment (Austral Fisheries Pty Ltd) | We care – our seafood is sustainable, healthy, and carbon neutral. |
| Minister’s Award for the Environment | Saving the Swift Parrot, Orange Bellied Parrot and Forty-Spotted Pardalote through Science and Innovation (National Environmental Science Programme Threatened Species Recovery Hub) | Embracing the community, to develop game changing new conservation techniques for Tasmania’s most endangered birds |
| Minister’s Award for the Environment | Sundrop Farms |