Enviro-Stewards, a pioneer in adopting the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals into its sustainability strategy contested in the SDG Awards 2017 hosted by the Global Compact Network Canada – the Canadian network of the UN Global Compact – this fall and was a winner in the SME Organizations category. Other contestants in the Awards include Teck Resources, Kinross Gold, Frontera Energy, Scotiabank, Plan International Canada and many others.
TORONTO, September 28th – Enviro-Stewards was awarded today in Toronto by the Global Compact Network Canada for its outstanding efforts in helping to advance action towards the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Her Honour the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell gave congratulating remarks to all winning organizations during the Award ceremony.
Enviro-Stewards was presented the SDG Award 2017 by Celina Caesar-Chavannes, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development. The company’s achievement was also congratulated by senior business leaders and representatives from the top echelons of the Canadian government who were present today at the Awards ceremony.
Enviro-Stewards drives action towards the SDGs in Canada and abroad through both their professional and development-based work. They work with manufacturers to drastically reduce resource consumption and waste production. Projects typically reduce consumption of water and energy by over 30% and result in payback periods of under one year, helping companies achieve their bottom line.
In addition to their consulting work, Enviro-Stewards runs the Safe Water Project which trains people to run businesses selling bio-sand filters throughout South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya. This project aims to create capacity in developing regions for entrepreneurs and motivated individuals to construct, sell, and maintain bio-sand filters in surrounding communities.
To date, the biosand filter projects have:
- Sold over 600 recorded filters providing over 38,000,000 litres of safe water
- Conserved over 3,500 trees from being cut down for firewood amounting to approximately 7,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas reduction
- Prevented over 1,700 potential cases of typhoid
To date, the recommendations from our engineering assessments have conserved:
- Water to fill over 2,800 Olympic swimming pools
- Tonnes of greenhouse gasses equivalent to over 400 blue whales
- Tonnes of waste equivalent to over 280 blue whales
About the SDG Awards 2017
The annual SDG Awards hosted by the Global Compact Network Canada (GCNC), the Canadian network of the United Nations Global Compact aims to recognize and help foster existing efforts by organizations to help advance action towards the 17 SDGs. The Awards also aims to highlight the business case for organizations to embed the SDGs to promote their adoption in Canada.
The GCNC hopes that the Awards can spark interest among organizations who are not currently embedding the SDGs by providing a platform for organizations to benchmark their initiatives and showcase best practice examples for others to follow.
The event is sponsored by Host Sponsor, Teck Resources; Bronze Sponsors Frontera Energy and Kinross Gold; Breakfast and Lunch Sponsor, Baker McKenzie.
”Often private sector organizations don’t know where to start or how to explore options to embed the SDGs to their company’s sustainability strategy, the SDG Awards provides a great opportunity for those companies to join the discussion and be part of one of the largest SDGs-related initiative in Canada. ” explains Helle Bank Jorgensen, President of the Global Compact Network Canada.
Details on the application and nomination process are available on the Global Compact Network Canada’s website. Online public voting began on July 28th and adjourned on September 14th.
There are two winning categories for the Awards – SME and large organizations. Winners in the Large Organizations category include: Frontera Energy, BASF, and University of Calgary. Winners in the SME category include: MScSM Program at University of Toronto, Operation Eyesight, and Enviro-Stewards.
Media Contact
Bruce Taylor
btaylor@enviro-stewards.com