Beca was named overall winner in the large business category in
Fairfax’s annual Sustainable 60 Awards, held last night in Auckland. Beca also won the Environment category.
Judges of the awards - developed by Fairfax Media Business Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers to recognise best practice in business sustainability - said Beca's model of employee ownership should be applauded as a way to ensure long-term thinking and sustainability.
Chairman Richard Aitken told Unlimited magazine that many people had been interested in the company's ownership model. "It's always been a fundamental plank of our culture that the business is owned by employees," he said.
The judges paid tribute to Beca for practising what it preaches, saying “Beca took Aorangi House, the worst performing building in Wellington and turned it into a five-green-star building. Succession and sustainability go hand in hand and we applaud Beca’s employee shareholder model as a strong way to address this.”
The Sustainable 60 Awards were established three years ago to recognise sustainable business excellence. The awards aim to showcase the commitment by organisations to sustainable business, to share best practice and to celebrate success.
List of Winners
- Overall - Large Business: Beca
- Overall - Medium Business: Soar Printing
- Strategy and Governance: Auckland Airport
- Workplace: Bank of New Zealand
- Marketplace: Ziptrek Ecotours
- Community: Meridian Energy
- Environment: Beca
- Special commendation: Auckland Airport
- Special commendation: Anguillid Consulting Engineers and Scientists