INTOUCH : Sustainability winners

Ecostore’s commitment to the environment was recognised when it collected two awards at the recent NZI National Sustainable Business Network awards last month.
As well as taking out the Trailblazer large and corporate category, the Auckland-based household and personal care manufacturer also earned the top honour of “Sustainable Business of the Year”.
The award recognises pioneering journey that was started 17 years ago by Malcolm and Melanie Rands in their Northland permaculture village. Today the company they formed has 30 employees and exports to Australia, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
Ecostore’s range of products are produced at its Enviro-Mark NZ diamond-certified manufacturing plant in Auckland using sustainably-sourced plant and mineral-based ingredients. That the company appeared in 30th place on the 2009 Fast 50 listings boasting growth rate of 216 percent is perhaps sign its long-term sustainability philosophy is reaching an increasingly receptive market. Founder Malcolm Rand has also been nominated for World Class New Zealander Award.
Rachel Brown, chief executive of the Sustainable Business Network, said Ecostore stood out for its efforts to minimise and mitigate the impact of its business activities on the environment and its continual ability to ‘walk the talk’. Judges also commended its lifecycle tracking processes that follow each product from design and manufacturing to use and disposal.
Other winners were Kiwibank, which earned the Emerging large and corporate business award; The Conference Centre (Emerging, small and medium); the Manawatu-based Herb Farm (Trailblazer, small and medium); Lanzatech (Sustainable Design and Innovation); and Wellington Zoo Trust, which was commended in the Trailblazer not-for-profit category and won the People’s Choice Award. Landcare Research (large) and Framework (not-for-profit) both won judges’ commendations in the Trailblazer category.
The awards were held at St Matthew-in-the-city in Auckland.