SAN DIEGO (Nov 23, 2018) Last week, SEAL Awards announced the winners of the 2018 SEAL Business Sustainability Awards, celebrating their leadership and commitment to sustainable business practices.
Green Standards received a SEAL Environmental Initiative Award for exemplary waste diversion efforts on corporate real estate projects. Dozens of Global brands – several of whom are clients of Green Standards – such as Microsoft, General Motors, Adobe, Nike, Patagonia, Cisco and HP were among those selected for SEAL Awards in 2018.
Companies have a unique opportunity and responsibility to drive environmental progress where politics cannot. Our sustainability awards celebrate organizations that embrace their ethical responsibility to drive change.
Matt Harney, Founder of SEAL Awards
“Many business sustainability initiatives are overlooked within their own organizations – let alone lauded by the media or public – even though they often make real positive impacts for our planet. We are excited to honor their sustainability leadership,” he says.
Green Standards Environmental Initiatives:
In 2018, Green Standards surpassed 2017 milestones in a number of measurable categories; diverting more than 7,000 tons of furniture and equipment from landfill with a 98.8% landfill diversion rate. Since January, the sustainable decommission program has gifted furniture to more than 750 non-profit beneficiaries with in-kind donations worth more than $4 million cumulatively.
By keeping these gently used office items out of the landfill, Green Standards reduced CO2e emissions by more than 24,000 metric tons on behalf of our corporate clients and partners. As companies have seen a need to be more transparent and responsible with their decommission projects, we’ve seen the demand for our process grow significantly.
Green Standards’ clients are typically leading brands from all sectors, including McKesson, Salesforce.com, United Airlines, KPMG, Georgia Pacific, Manulife, PNC Bank, and others.
By combining donation, resale, and recycling strategies with turnkey project management, Green Standards maximizes asset recovery, streamlines community donation, and virtually eliminates waste. It’s this innovative approach that generates value for businesses, local communities and the environment.
With each office requiring unique solutions for their existing furniture and equipment, Green Standards is able to recover usable resources and repurpose valuable products, keeping them out of the landfill with our network of resellers, recyclers and 17,000+ registered non-profits across North America.
As of August 2018, Green Standards has donated $25 million worth of surplus office assets to 4500+ community organizations since inception. The 47,000+ tons diverted from landfill is equal to reducing GHG offsets by 157,000 metric tons.
Green Standards’ circular economy-inspired office solution takes responsibility for vendor onboarding and management, engages resellers, recyclers and local non-profits, coordinating and documenting asset delivery, and provides clients with environmental and community impact reporting for each item in their inventory.
Together, these offerings create a unique, triple bottom line service available to corporations anywhere in the US and Canada.
SEAL Awards
SEAL Environmental Initiative Award:
This award honors specific environmental and sustainability initiatives. Key criteria for selection included: Impact Metrics, Innovation, Sharing of Insights, and Investment Levels.
The 2018 Environmental Initiative winners were:
- Anuvia
- Covanta
- EcoPod
- Equinix
- Green Standards
- JD.com
- Jiminy’s
- Lonely Whale
- Profile Products
- Shire
- SystemNix Asia
- Umuntu GmbH
Initiative entry applications were reviewed by a judging panel composed of sustainability executives from leading companies, like AMD, Carnival, Micron, and Sodexo.
One hundred percent of the award entry fees raised will be contributed to the 2019 SEAL Environmental Research Grant initiative. To date, the SEAL organization has provided funding to 17 environmental researchers at institutions like Duke, Harvard, MIT, and UCLA.
The SEAL Business Sustainability Awards are the capstone of three annual events that honor environmental progress and leadership. The Environmental Research Grant recipients were announced in June. The winners of the Environmental Journalism Awards were announced on November 12.
Results & Achievements
Green Standards’ programs sustainably decommission 10 million square feet of office space annually, reducing CO2e by 157,000+ metric tons since inception.
Environmental Impact – 2009-2018
- 47,316 tons diverted from landfill
- 98.6% landfill diversion rate by weight
- 157,389 metric tons of CO2e emissions reduced
- $25,857,756+ fair market value of in-kind donations
- 4500+ non-profit beneficiaries and charitable organizations received furniture donations
- 1500+ projects across North America
2018 Awards and Recognition
- Environmental Initiative – SEAL Award 2018 – SEAL
- Corporate Citizen Award – REmmy Awards 2018 – CoreNet
- Canada’s Clean50/Clean16 – Delta Management Group
- Environmental Best Practice – Green Apple Award 2018
- edie Sustainability Leaders Award – 2018 Finalists – edie.net
Recent Awards and Recognition
About
About SEAL Awards
The SEAL (Sustainability, Environmental Achievement & Leadership) Awards launched in 2017 and is an awards-driven environmental advocacy organization. Our core beliefs maintain that environmental progress requires true leadership, leadership deserves recognition, and recognition is a form of accountability.
For more information, visit https://sealawards.com.
About Green Standards
Capturing Value In Workplace Change
Green Standards has spent the last decade developing rigorous practices and global networks that deliver optimal value from workplace decommissioning. Our enterprise program measures and maximizes ESG performance while virtually eliminating landfill waste. A partner to the world’s largest organizations, Green Standards enables the efficient and ethical redistribution of furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) during times of workplace change.
Media Contact: Marc Borins, 1-855-632-8036
