An Edinburgh bus company, a Stonehaven fish and chip business, a Findhorn-based printer and an NHS trust were among the organisations presented with prizes at the fourth annual Scottish green awards
Lothian Buses scooped the accolade for best large company after reducing the carbon footprint of its fleet. The introduction of 15 diesel electric hybrid buses in the last year and fitting older vehicles with advanced emission-reduction exhaust systems has helped Lothian Buses reduce annual carbon emissions by 9,000 tonnes.
The new buses, which will save an estimated 200,000 litres of diesel each year, have been introduced on routes in areas suffering most from air pollution.
In the small business category, Bay Fish & Chips was honoured for its efforts to minimise its impact on the environment. These include using only fish from sustainable sources, compostable packaging and renewable energy.
The small company award, which is sponsored by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and is open to firms with a turnover of less than £20 million, is the latest is a long line of honours for the fish and chip business. Earlier this year, it also won the environmental sustainability prize at the Scotland Food & Drink excellence awards.
The 20:20 carbon reduction award, a new accolade for 2012 recognising a company or organisation that demonstrates a proactive approach to reducing its carbon footprint, went jointly to print group Big Sky and NHS Grampian.
Big Sky operates out of the village of Findhorn in Morayshire and uses only vegetable oil-based inks and Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper, and is powered by renewable energy from a local wind farm. Its environment management system is certified to ISO 14001.
Aberdeen-based NHS Grampian has recently opened a new energy centre at its Foresterhill health campus, which is expected to help cut annual energy costs by 15% and cut CO2 emissions by 17% a year.
Martin Baxter, a member of the judging panel and policy director at IEMA, which sponsored the awards, praised the quality of applications: “The standard was very good, and although this makes the task of judging difficult, it does ensure that high-level achievers are recognised.”
