From living seawalls made from upcycled materials, to a local health district tackling sustainability in hospitals, the winners of the NSW Sustainability Awards, presented by the Banksia Foundation, are working towards a more sustainable future.
Announced this evening (Thursday, 9 December) at a celebration in Sydney, the awards make up the first state program of Australia's longest running national sustainability award, the Banksia Awards.
Innovative waste solutions, clean technology and healthy sea life were priorities for the businesses, communities and individuals who won the seven award categories.
Among the winners are the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, which won the Biodiversity Award for their innovative design that combines ecology and engineering to promote marine life; Planet Protector Packaging, which won the Circular Transition Award for their sustainable packaging made from waste wool; and Green Eco Technologies, the winner of the Small & Medium Enterprise Transformation Award, for their work implementing a food waste conversion system at the Four Seasons Sydney.
Banksia Foundation CEO Graz van Egmond says the winners of the inaugural NSW Sustainability Awards herald a bright future for meaningful climate action.
"The judges were thrilled to see such innovative and inspiring initiatives," Ms van Egmond says.
"The winners share a drive to create a healthy future for people and the planet, but they're doing so in such different ways.
"They are all leaders in their field and are disrupting the status quo with their thinking."
There are eight categories in the NSW awards:
· NSW Net Zero Action Award
· NSW Biodiversity Award
· NSW Circular Transition Award
· NSW Clean Technology Award
· NSW Large Business Transformation Award
· NSW Small to Medium Business Award
· NSW Youth as our Changemakers Award
· Minister's Young Climate Champion
A full list of the winners and their projects is included below.
Winners of the NSW awards will automatically be entered into the prestigious Banksia National Sustainability Awards. The winners of the national Banksia Awards will be announced in March 2022.
