Edmonton's Small Business Eco Challenge

Showcase your eco friendly business!

The Small Business Eco Challenge celebrates the environmental achievements of small business operating in Edmonton.

Information on how to enter the 2013 Challenge will be posted during Environment Week, June 2-8. Watch for it!

Congratulations to the 2012 winners!

First Place – 1-10 employees

Earth Legacy Inc.
11930-66 Street, Edmonton
Earthlegacy.net
Company profile: Sustainable landscape designer

• Designs include trees for shade and to sequester carbon
• Creates edible landscapes which provide food for homeowners and resiliency to drought and pests
• Landscape designs do not include lawns which eliminates the need for mowers
• On construction projects, use existing soil and plant material as substrate and compost
• Never using any chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides

Second Place – 1-10 employees

EccoAmmo
Suite 102, 10436-81 Avenue, Edmonton
Eccoammo.com
Company profile: Provides sustainable building design and construction consulting as well as sustainable operations consulting and carbon monitoring and event tracking for other business.

• Employees walk and bike to work
• When driving, use the company’s Smart Car
• Keep a garden that supplies the office with fruit and vegetables
• Clients average 39% energy reduction and 42% indoor water use reduction in last 6 years

Third Place – 1-10 employees

Howell Mayhew Engineering
15006-103 Avenue, Edmonton
hme.ca
Company profile: Consults on and designs, develops, supplies, installs and commissions solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity generating systems.

• Home-based office gets all electricity from the sun
• Office is in an energy-efficient R-2000 house
• Purchase emission offsets to offset all the GHG emissions from company car

First Place – 11-50 employees

Manasc Isaac Architects
10225-100 Avenue, Edmonton
Manascisaac.com 
Company profile: Architects, engineers and interior designers

• Manasc Isaac designed province’s first LEED® certified building as well as Edmonton’s first LEED® Silver building
• Installed solar panel sunshades on the south side of the building. They generate about 10% of building’s power saving about 12,500 pounds of CO2
• Office does not require any air conditioning thanks to solar sun shades and operable windows that allow air circulation throughout the building
• A roof deck garden grows vegetables and herbs

Second Place – 11-50 employees

Oil Country Engineering
#208, 2520 Ellwood Dr. SW, Edmonton
Ocenge.ca
Company profile: Land-based drilling rig consulting firm

• Office was designed with an open concept to allow for more natural light
• EBay-style page on our intranet allows employees to list goods to borrow buy or sell from fellow colleagues
• Vermicompost bin in the staff lounge saves on organic waste

Third Place – 11-50 employees

Great Canadian Roofing
9310-62 Avenue, Edmonton
Greatcanadian.ca
Company profile: Sells energy-efficient renovation materials for homes and commercial properties

• 100% of waste materials from roof projects are recycled
• Old asphalt shingles taken to a facility where they are ground down and re-used to pave Alberta's streets and highways
• Metal flashings, plastic bundle wrappers, lumber, even the nails....all recycled!
• Every branch has in-house recycling program for cardboard, paper, plastics, etc.

Winner – 51-100 employees

B&B Demolition
12836-153 Street, Edmonton
Bbdemo.com
Company profile: Specializes in interior demolition of commercial retail space as well as residential, commercial, and industrial sectors

• B&B has achieved as high as 89% recycle rates when demolishing buildings
• Installed scrubbers in all machines. Scrubbers reduce the amount of particulates that are released into the air in diesel fumes
• Uses 3 battery-operated floor stripping machines
• Regular Organic Box delivery of organic fruits and vegetables from local farms for office staff
• Later this year, B&B Demolition will become LEED certified

Award Criteria

Entries were judged within the 6 categories included in the City's environmental strategic plan The Way We Green:

• Energy and Climate Change
• Food Resiliency: protection of local food supply or agriculture
• Solid Waste Reduction
• Land Conservation and Biodiversity
• Water Quality Protection and Conservation
• Air Quality

Only for-profit enterprises within the city of Edmonton that have been in operation for year or more qualified for the challenge. Winners were selected on the basis of overall environmental performance.

Categories

• 1-10 Employees
• 11-50 Employees
• 51-100 Employees

Prizes

All prizes include recognition on the City of Edmonton's Carbon Dioxide Reduction Edmonton web pages and in media releases prepared at the time of winning, as well as:

• First Prize: $500 Cash
• Second Prize $300 Cash
• Third Prize: $100 Cash

For more information: