Winners announced for awards celebrating energy efficiency and renewable energy

Winners of the 2009 Awards for excellence and innovation in energy efficiency and renewable energy were announced at an awards ceremony in Auckland, hosted by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

The Supreme winner was Radford Yarn Technologies Ltd. Radford is a Christchurch-based processor of New Zealand wool into high-end felted yarns for carpet and rug manufacture. Radford turned to renewable energy to lower their operation's environmental footprint. Their innovative project involved the installation of New Zealand's first specialised wood pellet boiler to produce the heat needed for the processing of wool.

The Awards showcase everyday, innovative Kiwis across the country who are implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that help their organisations to reduce costs, improve productivity and improve their brand credentials through lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The combined carbon dioxide savings by all awards finalists was nearly 665,000 tonnes, equivalent to taking over 200,000 vehicles off the road for a year.

"I want to congratulate to all the winners of tonight's awards - their projects deliver cost savings directly to the bottom line and demonstrate environmental responsibility at the same time", said Mike Underhill, EECA Chief Executive.

‘The fantastic thing about these Awards is that they clearly show what good energy management can deliver to all kinds of organisations, no matter what their size or type. If every one of New Zealand's 346, 000 businesses took the same approach then we would see massive energy and emission reductions worth billions to our economy."

The winners cover nine categories, and were chosen from 27 finalists. 

View a full break down on the winners of all categories.

The Awards 2009 took place in Auckland on Thursday 21 May 2009, hosted by EECA in conjunction with principal sponsors EcoInsulation, Fujitsu General New Zealand and Shell New Zealand.

ENDS