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25th Annual Emerald Awards

Emerald Awards recognize and celebrate outstanding environmental achievements across all sectors in Alberta.

The 25th Annual Emerald Awards were presented on June 8, 2016 at Telus Spark in Calgary.

The finalists of the 25th Annual Emerald Awards were selected by a panel of knowledgeable third-party judges.

Photo Gallery

Community Group or Not-for-Profit Association: Grassroots

Award Recipient

Electronic Recycling Association

In 2004, unwanted tech hardware was sent to landfills and e-waste management regulations were few. In response, Bojan Paduh created the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA). Through awareness events, collection drives, fundraising, partnerships with law enforcement and offering secure, convenient options for disposing of unwanted equipment, the ERA offers the option for e-waste to be processed…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Community Group or Not-for-Profit: Large Organization

Award Recipient

Green Calgary

For over a decade, Green Calgary has been developing urban stormwater-management solutions through rainwater-harvesting initiatives. After the 2013 floods, they embarked on a more focused and systematic approach to helping Calgary better prepare for extreme-weather events, the effects of which may be mitigated by green stormwater management practices. In 2014, through a national study with…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Education: Post-Secondary

Award Recipient

University-Based Community Service-Learning for the Environment

University of Alberta – Augustana Campus

The University of Alberta’s Augustana campus embraces community service-learning (CSL) to create significant environmental achievements on campus and throughout the Camrose community engagement. As a high-impact learning strategy, the objectives of CSL are to integrate meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Of the…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Education: School or Classroom

Award Recipient

Warriors of the Rainbow

Clandonald School

According to Cree legend, “Leaders will be those whose actions speak the loudest, the ones that have demonstrated wisdom and courage and have proven that they work for the benefit of all.” Named after the First Nations’ legend of the leaders who will come to restore the health of the Earth, the Clandonald School Warriors…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Emerald Challenge: INNOVATION

Award Recipient

Solar PV Incentive Program

Town of Banff

Energy consumption from the grid is Banff’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The national park municipality has quickly become a national leader in solar, including what was until recently the largest system in the Bow Valley area on its Town Hall. In early 2015, Banff became Canada’s first municipality to offer a production incentive (feed-in tariff) for solar PV. The town…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Government Institution

Award Recipient

Reuse Centre

City of Edmonton, Utility Services Branch

In 2007, the City of Edmonton opened its Reuse Centre, a drop-off facility for household materials, based on the growing popularity of volunteer-based community Reuse Fairs. The Centre accepts many items not accepted elsewhere, which are made available for purchase by organizations and individuals for a nominal fee. The Centre has grown in popularity, and moved…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Individual Commitment

Award Recipient

Jerry Brunen

Western Sky Land Trust Society

Jerry Brunen has served Alberta’s environmental community for 35 years. In 1987 with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), Jerry successfully led the First Step Initiative, a continental program to manage migratory birds under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, surrounding the Buffalo Lake Moraine, creating a chain of migratory support for waterfowl. He negotiated and managed the restoration of Weed Lake…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Large Business

Award Recipient

Implementing and Sharing Energy Efficiency Innovation

ConocoPhillips Canada

The ConocoPhillips Canada Energy Efficiency Program was established in 2008 to implement energy efficient technology at a large number of well sites and facilities spanning from northeast British Columbia to southeast Alberta.  The program’s goal is to make a significant reduction in the company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint.  With the assistance of a grant from the Climate…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Public Education and Outreach

Award Recipient

The Classroom Energy Diet Challenge

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society

The Classroom Energy Diet Challenge is an educational program designed to increase energy awareness while improving energy literacy of Canadian students from K–12. Created by Canadian Geographic Education and sponsored by Shell Canada, it’s comprised of 25 energy-themed classroom activities that teach students about biodiversity, transportation, carbon footprints and more. Students and teachers actively address…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Shared Footprints Award

Award Recipient

ALUS in Alberta

ALUS Canada is a community-led, farmer-delivered program that supports stewardship activities on agricultural lands. With the generous support of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, ALUS programs are established in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island—where it is run by the Province. In all ALUS communities, farmers and ranchers obtain support to enable them to produce…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Small Business

Award Recipient

Echohaven

Echo-Logic Land Corporation

Echohaven is a community of 25 home sites within Calgary. It was created as a place to group together solar or environmentally improved or net-zero energy or sustainable homes. Six founding families have taken the land from a former acreage to a place where like-minded people can live in a green community. By becoming the…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Youth

Award Recipient

Hayley Todesco

Since the age of 10, Hayley has been trying to solve local environmental issues through science fair projects after Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” ignited her zeal for environmentalism. At the age of 16, this passion led her to tackle the environmental issues surrounding the oil sands in her home province, specifically the oil sands…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.