2011 Green Jobs Award Winners Announced

 

We are pleased to share this year’s Green Jobs Award winners, who will be celebrated at an awards reception in New York on Thursday. These private businesses are providing significant contributions to both the economy and the environment within their communities and beyond. As noted in the recent Brookings Institute report, Sizing the Clean Economy, the growth of the green economy has been hampered by a lack of clear standards.  The Green Jobs Award program and the winners of this nationally recognized award are helping to define the emerging clean economy with solid examples of successful businesses with both sustainable business models and highly engaged employees.

Congratulations to our 2011 Green Jobs Award winners:

Better World Books (Alpharetta, GA)- with three additional locations in Indiana and another in Edinburgh, Scotland, Better World Books is an online resale company with 349 employees that also supports literacy efforts worldwide.

Pacific Biodiesel (Kahului, HI)- With an additional location in Honolulu, Pacific Biodiesel operated the first retail biodiesel pump in America, and now produces and sells approximately 1 million gallons of ASTM standard biodiesel annually in Hawaii. Founders Kelly and Bob King partnered with Willie and Annie Nelson and Darryl Hannah in 2007 to create the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance.

Power Partners, Inc. (Athens, GA)- Power Partners manufactures pole-type distribution transformers, solar water heaters, and absorption chillers while creating 360 great jobs with benefits and lean manufacturing training.

Sacred Power Corporation (Albuquerque, NM)- A Native American-owned firm, Sacred Power manufactures and deploys patented remote power systems, energy efficient telecommunication shelters, and grid-tied photovoltaic carports to remote Native American homes that otherwise might be without power and refrigeration.

SolarCity (San Mateo, CA)- A full service solar provider with 25 business location around the IS, SolarCity is growing rapidly with over 1,350 employees and more than 15,000 projects completed or underway in 10 states.

Sungevity (Oakland, CA)- With an additional Berkeley location, Sungevity is a residential solar installer that has pioneered an online 24-hour iQuote process allowing it to use satellite images an aerial photography to assess customers' roofs remotely. The firm offers great pay and excellent benefits for its 240 fully-engaged employees.

The Taylor Companies (Bedford, OH)- With a second location in Lynwood, CA, Taylor is a seventh generation furniture manufacturer and a green pioneer in a traditional industry. Taylor is the first furniture manufacturer member of The Climate Registry; the firm publishes its greenhouse gas emissions and other key sustainability information on a Sustainability Facts Label that is also included with all its products.

Join us in NY and get the chance to meet and hear from each company, along with a keynote by Jonathan Greenblatt, the Director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. Last chance to register is today >>

The Green Jobs Award is made possible by the support of the Citi Foundation, which is sponsoring the program for the second year. Green Jobs Award sponsors include iContact, TIDES, and Southern Energy Management (one of the 2010 Green Jobs Award winners). In addition Service Sponsor B Lab helped identify Certified B Corporation Service Partners to provide complimentary business services to the Award winners. Service Partners include Adam Shay CPA, PLLC, Beyond the Bottom Line, Big Vision Media Group, Compass (x) Strategy, Conscious Brands, Green Retirement Plans, Hanson Bridgett, Relevance, Restorative Leadership Institute, Social(k), Springleaf Strategies, and Thinkshift Communications.