The Sustainable Swansea Awards dinner and presentation ceremony was held on 18^th October in the historic Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea’s Maritime Quarter. The 120 guests, representing the short listed projects, sponsors and other partnerorganisations, were greeted by the Lord Mayor and then enjoyed an inspiring speech from Jane Davidson AM, Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing. A short video of each finlist was shown before the winners of seven different award categories were announced.

The purpose of the Sustainable Swansea Awards is to recognise, reward and promote the achievementsof local organisations, partnerships, community groups and individuals that make an active commitment to good environmental practice and sustainabledevelopment in Swansea. The scheme is coordinated by Swansea EnvironmentalForum as part of the wider Sustainable Swansea Initiative which is organised inpartnership with the City and County of Swansea, the Environment Centre, Swansea CVS and others.

“In total, the SustainableSwansea Awards judging panel received and assessed 41 separate applications across seven award categories.” remarked awards co-ordinator, Philip McDonnell.“The standard of entries was, as in previous years, very high and without doubt all the applicants deserve recognition for their efforts.”

There were seven categoriesin this year’s awards and the finalists and winners were as follows:

Community Project Award sponsored by the Cooperative Membership Wales Cymru.

This category was forcommunity-based projects which contribute to one or more aspect of sustainability. The three finalists shortlisted were Pontarddulais RailwayStation Partnership, RSPCA Llys Nini Textile Recycling Project, and SwanseaCommunity Farm. The winner was Swansea Community Farm which the judges felt had developed significantly in recent years despite experiencing funding andstaffing constraints.

Low Carbon Community Award sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government.

This award was for acommunity-focused project which raises awareness about or directly reduces a community’s carbon emissions. Two projects were shortlisted – the Penllergaerand Gorseinon Local Produce and Craft Markets; and the Down to Earth Project. Thewinner was the Down to Earth Project which the judges said had clearly raised awareness about carbon emissions and in addition to limiting their own carbonfootprint had also helped other people lead a low carbon lifestyle.

This category was for organisations that through their actions and policies have been able to reduce their owncarbon emissions. The finalists were the City and County of Swansea Buildingand Property Services; the Swansea Metropolitan University; and the HSBC DirectSwansea Climate Partnership. The judges were impressed with the way that all three organisations had made major institutional change a priority and embarkedon a journey to improve both their external operations and internal culture.The winner was Swansea Metropolitan University.

Waste Wise Business Award sponsored by City and County of Swansea RecyclingService

This award was for businesses that have demonstrated an awareness of the cost of waste and the value of resource efficiency through waste minimisation, reuse of materials,composting or recycling initiatives. The judges shortlisted three organisations which are very contrasting in terms of scale, type of operation and the rangeof waste materials that they deal with. They are the Swansea QuadrantInterchange Groundworks Project, AB Glass Ltd and Castle Leisure Ltd. The judges chose AB Glass as the winners because they felt that the rate of increase in their recycling was striking and an excellent example to otherbusinesses on how they can save resources and reduce costs.

Biodiversity Award jointly sponsored by the City and County of Swansea Nature ConservationTeam and the Countryside Council for Wales.

This category was open to any organisation, community group or partnership that has made a significantcontribution to protecting or enhancing biodiversity. The finalists chosen were the RSPCA Llys Nini Environment Project, the Gower Wildflower Centre and the Llanfair House Volunteer Environment Group. The winner was the Llys Nini EnvironmentProject as the judges were impressed by the way the site is managed for the benefit of wildlife.

Sustainable Schools Award sponsored by Swansea Environmental Education Forum

The three schools shortlisted for this award were Bishop Vaughan Catholic School, Ynystawe Primary School and Olchfa School and the winner was Ynystawe Primary School. The judges felt that the work being done at Ynystawe was outstanding.

Champion Award sponsored by the City and County of Swansea Sustainable DevelopmentTeam

This final award category was for an outstanding individual contribution in a paid or voluntary role either within an organisation or a community. The finalists were Alan Brayley of AB Glass Ltd., Martin Nicholls of the City and County of Swansea Building and Property Services and David Naylor of Wheelrights. The judges chose Alan Brayley because they felt he provided an excellent role model and had actively promoted and supported not only his own company but also other businesses to improve their environmental credentials and was playing a very active part in the community.