2014 Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise Award Winners Recognized

Durham is going green! All across town there are businesses that are making sustainable decisions and encouraging others to take care of the planet.


Green Plus, a program focusing on certification, education networking & recognition for green and sustainable businesses has announced several Durham winners of the 2014 Sustainable Enterprise Awards.

• Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise of the Year - Cocoa Cinnamon. Cocoa Cinnamon is a two-year-old coffee shop that prides itself on its community outreach, and sources the majority of its coffee, chocolate, milk, and pastries from local and sustainable businesses, and provides employee benefits and a living wage to both full and part-time workers.

• Green Plus Innovator of the Year - Bull City Forward. Bull City Forward is a nonprofit organization that supports local businesses and entrepreneurs that practice triple bottom line sustainability.  While socially innovative itself, Bull City Forward acts more as a conduit for other Durham-based businesses, encouraging innovation in business and helping businesses in the region improve their social capital.

• Green Plus Sole Proprietor of the Year - Food FWD. Food FWD, a startup run by married entrepreneurs Sarah and Noah Marsh, that partners with restaurants for large-scale collection of food waste.  The food waste is brought to a local composter, which is then re-sold to the public.  Food FWD also sells compostable serviceware.

• ​Green Plus Champion - Chris Carmody

This recognition isjust one more indication that Durham is home to an innovative and entrepreneurial community of businesses and citizens. The Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau was the first organization of its type in the nation to be certified Green Plus and just the second in Durham.

The Scrap Exchange Honored for Green Mission

Have you stopped into The Scrap Exchange lately? Next time you do, tell them congratulations on their recent Green Plus Sustainable Non-Profit of the Year award. Given by Green Plus, the North American Sustainable Enterprise Awards recognize excellence in triple bottom line sustainability. Businesses are chosen for the example they set in balancing business, community, and environmental best practices, for their innovation in sustainability and their efforts to teach their communities and their peers about the topic.

It’s no wonder The Scrap Exchange won with a mission of promoting creativity, environmental awareness, and community through reuse. That sounds a lot like the core values of Durham as a city; seems like Durham and The Scrap Exchange are a perfect fit!

In addition to The Scrap Exchange's recent win, MindWorks Multimedia earned Green Plus Certification, bringing the total number of businesses in Durham Green Plus Certified to nine.



Durham Companies Recognized

In 2010, Durham’s The King’s Daughters Inn was recognized as Green Plus’ Sustainable Enterprise of the Year in the national contest recognizing organizations for the examples they set in advancing triple bottom line sustainability. Can Durham claim the winning company two years in a row? It is possible with Durham's Counter Culture Coffee as a finalist for the 2011 award.

Also up for awards this year are Bull City Forward and The Scrap Exchange in the Green Plus Non-Profit or Social Enterprise of the Year category. Winners will be announced February 25 at the North Carolina Research Triangle Park Foundation headquarters in Durham.

In addition to these Green Plus finalists, Durham’s Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club was awarded the 2010 Model Diversity Campaign Award given by the United Way of the Greater Triangle. This award is given to a company that best effectively addresses the company’s diverse employee population.

These recognitions are just one more indication that Durham is home to an innovative and entrepreneurial community of businesses and citizens.

The Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau was the first organization of its type in the nation to be certified Green Plus and just the second in Durham.

“Energy Measurement: The Key to Energy Success” Free Webinar

Durham currently has 19 businesses certified or working toward Green Plus certification. These include The King’s Daughters Inn, who was recently honored as the Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise of the Year, and the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, which was the first organization of its type in the nation to be certified.

Curious how The King’s Daughters Inn practices sustainability? Owners and Innkeepers Colin and Deanna Crossman will discuss the Inn’s energy management and measurement systems in a free webinar hosted by The Center for Sustainable Tourism at East Carolina University on Thursday, September 2, from 10:30-11:30am.

The free webinar, “Energy Measurement: The Key to Energy Success” will focus on energy measurement and benchmarking for the tourism industry and how monitoring energy consumption better can lead to improved energy performance and cost reductions. In addition to the Crossmans, John Meeks, President of Apple Blossom Insulators, will discuss general information on energy measurement and energy audits.

For more information about the free webinar, and to register, click here.

The King's Daughters Inn Recognized for Green Ventures

Congratulations are in order for The King's Daughters Inn for their recognition as the Green Plus Sustainable Enterprise of the Year awarded last Friday in Durham's Research Triangle Park headquarters by the Institute for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Enterprise Awards recognize organizations for the examples they set in advancing triple bottom line sustainability.

The Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau was also one of six finalists for Sustainable Enterprise of the Year. To date, DCVB is still the first and only destination marketing organization in the nation to be Green Plus Certified based on a commitment to people, performance, and the planet.

The Institute for Sustainable Development is a public-private partnership between centers at Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Greater Durham Chambers of Commerce, the Fenwick Foundation, and the Foundation for a Sustainable Community. Durham-based GlaxoSmithKline is also a major corporate supporter.

Although The King's Daughters Inn is located in a building that was originally constructed in 1926 (when "green" referred mostly to farmland), its new owners, Deanna and Colin Crossman, have brought it up to the 2010 definition of Green with many environmentally friendly renovations, including a 10,000-gallon rainwater cistern, rain garden, pervious concrete, gray water system, and LED lights. For more detailed information on these and other green features at The King's Daughters Inn, click here.

Durham-based Riley Life Industries was also awarded the Green Plus Small Business of the Year award. In addition to Kings Daughter's Inn and DCVB, Mez Mexican Restaurant is also Green-Plus Certified. Other hospitality sector businesses in Durham seeking certification include Dos Perros (a finalist for Green Plus Small Business of the Year), Triangle Community Foundation (finalist for Green Plus Non-Profit of the Year), Beyú Caffé, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Northgate Mall, R. David Thomas Executive Conference Center, and Watts Grocery.