NEWS RELEASE
LIVING GREEN BARRIE
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On a Saturday night in September, guests in ball gowns, suits and rubber boots walked down a candlelit forest trail toward a decadent meal cooked on the grill by a local chef.
It was Barrie’s first carbon-neutral gala! This sold-out, fancy, fireside feast was hosted at Springwater Park by Living Green Barrie and it featured not only signature cocktails and campfire singing, but also Barrie’s first Green Business Awards.
Last year, nine businesses and organizations were nominated in two different categories: Green Business Award and Green Improvement Award.
Congratulations to Greenwell Plastics on Innisfil Street and Sojourn Outdoor Retailer on Commerce Park Drive. Greenwell Plastics won the Green Business Award for creating a lumber replacement using previously unrecyclable plastics.
Sojourn won the Green Improvement Award for replacing all their fluorescent and halogen lighting with LED bulbs which drastically reduces their energy consumption and now saves them close to $25 a day.
Living Green’s executive director, Andee Pelan, says: “We want to promote what local businesses are doing to make a difference for climate change. We hope by telling these stories we’ll encourage other businesses to attempt change. The more we hear about organizations acting sustainably, the more businesses we inspire to do so.”
Nominations are now open for any Simcoe County business or not-for-profit for this year’s Green Business Awards at livinggreenbarrie.com.
Board member Meg Whitton says self-nomination is welcome. “I often want to nominate someone I know for an award, but then am daunted by how labour intensive the process is and usually end up not finishing it.”
For this reason, Living Green has made the nomination form as simple as possible. It’s literally just five questions asking what your organization has done to lessen your environmental impact.
“We want to hear what businesses are trying and doing so we can promote those efforts and learn from each other,” says Whitton.
Has your restaurant switched to cardboard take out containers?
Have you started composting?
Have you found an eco way to do promotional swag?
These are all things they want to hear!
The deadline for nominations is Aug. 30. Winners will be announced at this year’s gala on Sept. 21 with Eclectic Cafe’s chef Melanie Robinson creating the menu.
What: Green Business Nominations OPEN
Who: Living Green Barrie
Where: livinggreenbarrie.com
When: Until Aug. 30
Why: To promote local businesses making green efforts
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