Winners of Inaugural Green Living Enterprise’s Excellence in Corporate Responsibility Awards to be Announced on October 26

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) Toronto -  October 25, 2011 -  Canada’s leaders in corporate social responsibility (CSR) will be celebrated at the inaugural Excellence in Corporate Responsibility Awards (ECR) in Toronto on October 26, 2011 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, immediately following the Canadian Business for Social Responsibility Summit. 

The ECR Awards was developed to honour and celebrate corporate Canadians for outstanding work and dedication towards creating sustainable and ethical practices within the business framework. “We are delighted to be highlighting the efforts of such a distinguished group of award recipients,” says Laurie Simmonds, President of Green Living Enterprises. “Canadian companies are world leaders in the CSR realm, and our judges faced a daunting task in selecting the winners.” The awards are a collaboration of Green Living, The Natural Step Canada, Bob Willard, CIRAIG, Pembina Institute, Corporate Knights and Jantzi- Sustainalytics.   Winners in eight categories including a total of 20 awards and three honourable mentions will be announced at the event. Categories include: 1. Large Business--Resources: Oil, Gas, Forestry and Mining 2. Large Business--Resources: Manufacturing 3. Large Business--Financial 4. Large Business--Retail 5. Large Business--Information 6. Medium Business--All sectors 7. Small Business--All sectors 8. Industry Association--All sector   As well, a posthumous Outstanding Achievement Award will be awarded to Ray Anderson, former CEO of Interface Inc. This award recognizes an individual, organization or corporation whose contributions through leadership and innovation, demonstrate a commitment to the highest standards and ideals of CSR and whose examples and efforts should serve as a model that inspires excellence in others.   In the inaugural year of this award, the ECR Awards team was unanimous in its choice of the late Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface Inc. Ray was a successful business leader who experienced a mid-career epiphany leading him to dedicate himself to Mission Zero—his company’s promise to eliminate any negative impact it may have on the environment by the year 2020. By the time of his death, Ray had received a number of highly acclaimed awards and had brought his company more than halfway towards its goal, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent, fossil fuel consumption by 60 percent (favouring renewable forms of energy), waste to landfill by 82 percent, and water use by 82 percent. And he proved that being good to the environment could also be good for the bottom line: during the same period, Interface avoided over $450 million in costs, increased sales by 63 percent and more than doubled earnings. Anderson’s daughter Mary Anne Lanier will be accepting the award on the family’s behalf.   The Awards ceremony and dinner will commence at 6:30pm. Tickets are sold out.   For more information visit http://www.greenlivingenterprises.ca/ecr-awards/about-ecr-awards/ or contact Brenda Halkiw at 416 360 0044 ext 612 /bhalkiw@green-living.ca   About Green Living Green Living Enterprises works with companies in the corporate sector to define their strategies and communications as it relates to environmental issues and corporate social responsibility. Green Living Enterprises is a full-service, one-stop solution for green marketing, product and program development, custom publishing and event management. An authentically green company, Green Living also includes Greenlivingonline and the Green Living Show, North America’s largest green consumer show dedicated to easy and workable solutions for leading a sustainable lifestyle.   GLIV18070