Finalists announced for 2015 Green Globe Awards

NSW Environment Minister Mark Speakman has announced the finalists for this year’s Green Globe Awards — an environmental recognition program which celebrates excellence, leadership and innovation in sustainability.

This year’s 43 finalists include industry experts, councils, architects, designers, small community groups and global brands. Their initiatives include vital conservation work to protect threatened Australian bird species and their habitats, Australia’s first 6-star Green Star shopping centre and a program to green Sydney via the Green Roofs and Walls program.

“It’s remarkable to see the sustained effort from not only NSW’s largest corporates but also councils, SMEs and community groups in the Green Globe award nominations this year,” said the chair of the awards’ independent judging panel, Robin Mellon. “Nominees are now addressing sustainability across more areas of their business than ever before, with many looking at long-term visions, social and shared value, and holistic initiatives, rather than simply their short-term goals.”

The finalists have been chosen across 16 categories in the three broad areas of excellence in sustainability, excellence in leadership and innovation, and excellence in energy, water and waste efficiency. This year also marks the introduction of a new award category, ‘Built environment sustainability — residential properties’, which honours architects, designers and strata/owners corporations for their environmental design, construction and retrofits of residential properties in NSW.

The Green Globe Awards winners will be announced at a ceremony in October at the Art Gallery of NSW. The event will also see the presentation of the Premier’s Award for Environmental Excellence — the overall winner of the competition.

The full list of finalists can be viewed here.