Eco-Heroes!
Congratulations to Brentwood and Lougheed Town Center for being nominated as Eco-Heroes in their community. Shortlisted many times for Environmental Excellence at the Burnaby Business Excellence Awards they were nominated because:
“The team does an excellent job promoting sustainability at the shopping centre. They also follow and initiate green practices in the operation of the centre.”
***
Congratulations also to Whistler Water who nominated Daniel who is committed to championing their Zero Waste initiative. His goal is to having Whistler Water company achieve zero waste operations.
***
Congratulations to Reid’s Auto Recycling who is also one of our community’s Eco-Heroes!
Reid’s strives to provide the best eco-friendly product and services to their customers while adopting a zero waste mindset in all aspects of their business. They work to extend the lifespan of materials, use, energy efficient technology, foster creative solutions and promote environmental awareness for the benefit of their customers, community and the planet. Reid’s is a Climate Smart business member since 2014 and with a commitment of membership to 2020.
They are also the recipient of the Burnaby Business Excellence Award for Environmental Sustainability and was recognized by the City of Burnaby for Environmental Excellence!
***
Congratulations to Tanya Otero for being nominated as an Eco-Hero. Here’s why!
Tanya is an amazing individual who is passionate about waste reduction. She has even gone completely plastic-free and been a huge advocate in the community. Working with Ocean Wise’s Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up, Tanya organizes and participates in hundreds of shoreline clean-ups each year. She is a dedicated member/leader of the Ocean Wise Green Team and continues to influence organization-wide change in regards to waste reduction. She is the most dedicated individual I’ve ever met when it comes to cleaning up our oceans and advocating for change in our community.
***
Congratulations to Sheldon Ridout the owner of The Silent Gardener Ltd. Sheldon has been passionate about organic gardening for seventeen years and offers organic, low emission and low noise services all over the Lower Mainland. He has recently purchased electric trucks to compliment the other low emission equipment used by his team of garden experts. Sheldon and the team at The Silent Gardener are committed to doing everything they can to lower their carbon footprint.
Congratulations to Magda Spzala at BC Housing. Magda developed the sustainability strategy for BC Housing and engaged their employees on sustainability at work and at home.
***
DreamDesigns started in 1981 by the late Irma McInnis, specializes in sleep, spa, mediation, yoga and home decor items made from sustainable fabrics in local factories. “Our rising standard of living should not come at the expense of the environment,” says Bei Linda Tang the current owner of Dream Designs.
“There are always sustainable alternatives and as a business owner I feel obligated to make those alternatives available.”
I believe that Curtis Lee and the not for profit Hospice Society thrift store is an Eco Hero. Curtis has initiated and endeavours to recycle as much as possible that pass through the store. Each day the store receives an enormous amount different items. At this time the store recycles cardboard boxes, metal, electronics and a huge amount of clothing. The store also donates to other charities such as the Mission Society who sends the items over seas. Recycling is not an easy task but Curtis feels it is the stores responsibility to reduce the amount of things that lands up in our landfills and thus reduce our carbon foot print.
Curtis was nominated by a member of his team to be an Eco-Hero!
About Burnaby Hospice Society
Burnaby Hospice Society provides services in Burnaby to individuals and families going through the end-of-life journey. They support individuals who are in palliative or hospice care along with their families and caregivers. They educate our community about death, dying and bereavement.
Eco-Hero -and Community Builder Dick Kouwenhoven |Hemlock Printers
Dick Kouwenhoven, known for his down-to-earth, warm and approachable demeanor, his trailblazing desire to innovate and to conduct his business sustainably, was the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hemlock Printers one of the most highly revered commercial printing operations in North America. Hemlock Printers and Dick were recognized around the world as a trailblazing printing company not just in terms of its high-end offset printing capabilities, digital printing prowess and adoption of cutting-edge imaging technologies, but also for its environmental innovations.
Sadly Dick passed away last year but he left a lasting legacy which continues to build on his spirit of innovation, quality, and environmental stewardship. The awards and recognition are too numerous to mention but if you look here you’ll see that year after year Hemlock is recognized for its leadership across multiple categories.
Dick was an active member of his community and the Burnaby Board of Trade. We thank him for his friendship, leadership and inspiration over the years.
