Partnership between Australian Sustainability and Banksia Awards

Australian Sustainability Conference is proud to announce that it is a partner of the Banksia Foundation Sustainability Awards, which were launched this morning in Sydney. The Australian Sustainability Conference will be held 9-10 October in Melbourne and the Banksia awards will be presented at the event.

It is the 25th anniversary of the awards, which are the longest running environmental/sustainability awards in Australia. When they commenced in 1988, recognising environmental excellence was a unique concept. After 25 years it has become mainstream and Australia no longer sees environmental matters in isolation.

“Today, it is important to reflect the interdependency between environment, society and the economy and the resulting excellence that comes from meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” said Graz van Egmond, Chief Executive Officer, Banksia Foundation.

“So to mark its 25th anniversary, the Banksia Awards (now known as the Banksia Sustainability Awards) has acknowledged this vital step forward and the awards in 2013 will reflect a sustainability approach throughout the various category awards.”

To demonstrate this expansive area, there will be a record 21 awards in total, open to all business, government, not-for-profit and individual sustainability leaders. New awards added in 2013 to the portfolio are:

• The Banksia CEO Award - recognising an individual executive’s contribution towards the economic, social or environmental sustainability achievements of the organisation or company they work for and which has collateral benefits for the globe.
• The Banksia Technical Awards including:
  Waste Minimisation Soil Remediation & Improvement
  Energy Efficiency and Carbon Management
  Transportation
  Climate Adaptation
• The Banksia Business and Not-for-Profit Award - recognising leadership in implementing projects, strategies and initiatives that demonstrate capacity building, measurably enhancing the long-term social, economic and environmental state of the community and implementation of relevant solutions.
• The Banksia Local Government - Sustainable Procurement Award
• The Banksia Local Government - Sustainability Award

The Banksia CEO Award will be presented at the inaugural Banksia CEO’s Corroboree - a breakfast gathering of non-executive directors, CEOs and senior bureaucrats designed to provide the opportunity to discuss where their respective sector will be under the sustainability umbrella in 10-15 years.

Providing an opportunity to focus on the technical aspects of sustainability, the Banksia Technical Awards will be presented at a lunch.

The traditional Category Awards, the GPT Group Community Grant, the Banksia International Award and the Banksia Gold Award will be bestowed at the evening awards function.