Last Friday Toronto celebrated its green leaders.
In a ceremony hosted by Sangita Patel, weather specialist for CityNews, the
Green Toronto Awards were presented to nine NGOs, private companies and individuals who demonstrated outstanding leadership in keeping Toronto clean and green.
The awards—co-sponsored by the
City of Toronto and
Green Living Enterprises—were presented at Toronto's Exhibition Centre on the opening night of the 2012
Green Living Show (GLS).
"It's fantastic to be recognized by Toronto's green community," says Chris Carradine, VP of marketing for
ecobee, the Toronto-based startup that won in the Energy Conservation category. Ecobee was recognized for the success of its programmable and wifi-enabled thermostat (you can read
Yonge Street's feature on ecobee
here).
"We wanted to make a product that was easy to use, smart and green," says Carradine, "We designed an intelligent algorithm that shows historical trends and patterns and logs data. [Based on North American averages], the average home dweller using the ecobee systems saves between 500 and 600 dollars a year. We're very excited to be recognized for this."
Carradine was especially excited about being recognized at the GLS, an event that he says brings Ontario's green community together "and gives us a chance to meet and interact with our customers." Ecobee first attended the GLS three years ago and hasn't missed it since.
The other eight award winners represent a diverse group of Toronto entrepreneurs, designers and community organizations. They are Friends of the Rouge Watershed (Community Projects Award); Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Green Business Award); Ocean Wise's Toronto Office (Environmental Awareness Award); Natalie Rizzo (Youth Leadership Award); The Centre for Green Cities at Evergreen Brick Works, designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects (Green Design Award); Water-on-Wheels (Water Efficiency Award); Chris Winter (Leadership Award); and Not Far From the Tree (Local Food Award).
You can read more about the 2012 winners
here.
Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Chris Carradine, VP of Marketing, ecobee ltd., and Green Living Enterprises