27th Annual Emerald Awards

Emerald Awards recognize and celebrate outstanding environmental achievements across all sectors in Alberta. A third-party panel of knowledgeable judges was tasked with selecting a maximum of three finalists per category, one of which will be named the category recipient at the Emerald Awards ceremony.

The 27th Annual Emerald Awards were presented on June 5 at Theatre Junction Grand in Calgary.

Photo Gallery

As part of the 27th Annual Emerald Awards, Calgary’s former poet laureate commemorates the event with a new poem about the natural world.

Community Group or Not-for-Profit Association: Grassroots

Award Recipient

Waterton Biosphere – Carnivores and Communities Program

Waterton Biosphere Reserve

Government, land owners, producers—it’s tough to bring people and groups together and agree on how to address a problem. In this case, it’s about the increasing conflicts between large carnivores and agricultural land users in southwest Alberta. But, using neighbour-to-neighbour coffee table discussions and with research and government support, the Waterton Biosphere Reserve’s Carnivores and…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Community Group or Not-for-Profit: Large Organization

Award Recipient

Environment & Climate Literacy Project

Green Calgary

After 40 years serving Calgary communities with a number of environmental programs, Green Calgary has found a new niche as the voice for those just starting their ‘green’ journey. From youth programs in waste, water and energy efficiency to adult efforts on food sustainability and green cleaning, Green Calgary is refocusing its attention on environmental…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Education: Post-Secondary

Award Recipient

Green Building Technologies Lab and Demonstration Centre

SAIT ARIS Green Building Technologies

SAIT’s Green Building Technologies (GBT) Lab and Demonstration Centre is Calgary’s first net-zero commercial building—a living research lab that is an innovative example for the green building and structure sector to see, feel and understand how to design, build and live more sustainably. Working with government and industry partners and available for research and development…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Education: School or Classroom

Award Recipient

Innovate

If there’s an example of taking the classroom out into the real world, Innovate has to be it. In fact, there’s no classroom at all with this unique program. Instead, Edmonton high school students host and attend career fairs on urban agriculture, create gym-sized maps to understand the migration routes of bears, and install solar…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Government Institution

Award Recipient

E2 Street Lighting Program

City of Calgary

We all know about the savings that come from switching out home light bulbs in hanging fixtures and lamps to LED, so imagine what can be saved when an entire city retrofits street lights with LED luminaires? That’s just what Calgary has done with a four-year, $32 million project, laying claim to the largest LED…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Individual Commitment

Award Recipient

Bike to Work Day

Lonny Balbi

Lonny Balbi offers the secret of success for Calgary’s Bike to Work Day, a one-day event now in its 12th year with over 5,000 participants peddling into the city core – keep it simple. Long advised to have registration fees and sponsors, Balbi has instead kept the event bare-bones, determined that anyone can hop on…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Large Business

Award Recipient

Beaver Creek Wood Bison Project

Syncrude Canada Ltd & the Fort McKay First Nation

When a large corporation in Alberta’s oil sands teams with a neighbouring First Nations community to repurpose reclaimed land, it’s a good thing. But when a threatened species of wood buffalo flourish, creating a genetically pure line of animal that is culturally significant to this and future generations of the First Nations people of Ft….

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Public Education and Outreach

Award Recipient

Fish Creek Environmental Learning Centre Education Program

Alberta Environment and Parks

Calgary students and residents know the gem they have in the Fish Creek Environmental Learning Centre. For over 35 years, its home in a 1,300 hectare urban park has connected people with nature: the birds, animals and landscape not only create an outdoor classroom for 15,000 students each year, it’s also a space for the…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Shared Footprints Award

Award Recipient

Creekwatch Citizen Science and Stewardship

RiverWatch Institute of Alberta

Have you ever wondered where rain and snow melt goes beyond the storm drain? Some assume such water is treated and then sent out into the river, but that’s not the case. Now, thanks to CreekWatch, citizen scientists are finding out exactly what pollutants are in these water sources—everything from concrete and plastic to garbage…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Small Business

Award Recipient

Redemptive Developments

When Redemptive Developments (RD) started as a social enterprise in Edmonton seven years ago, its aim was to create employment, help diminish poverty and invest in the community. Becoming one of the biggest mattress recyclers in Western Canada was never on the radar. But that’s what has happened. In 2011, under the umbrella of its…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.

Youth

Award Recipient

Mission Replant Fort McMurray

EcoYOLO

Fort McMurray junior high students Chintan Desai and Krish Shah aren’t your everyday 14 year-olds. After wildfires ravaged the area in 2016, the pair—who had already been part of the RM of Wood Buffalo’s Green Teen program—wanted to do something to help replenish what nature had taken away. The result was Eco YOLO: Eco, for…

Shortlist

There are no other finalists in this category.