Green Shops Gold Medals Presented To Five City Businesses

(February 14, 2011) – Five city businesses were honoured by Mayor Brad Woodside today for achieving the highest level of certification in Fredericton’s Green Shops program.

“I am very pleased to see businesses in our city are continuing to embrace environmental sustainability,” said Mayor Woodside as he presented the gold medals. “Not only can businesses realize financial benefits by going green but they are also motivated by moral and ethical reasons.”

Avalon Spa is owned and operated by Peggy and Terry Jewett. The company has drastically reduced its environmental impact by converting to natural gas and by using high-efficiency washers and water heaters to conserve both energy and water. The company also implemented waste reduction and recycling initiatives for the staff and uses environmentally friendly products in all of its salons.

Computers for Schools collects, repairs and refurbishes donated and surplus computers from government and private sector sources and distributes them to schools, public libraries and not-for-profit learning organizations. It currently diverts in excess of 113,000 computers from landfills each year. Sandra Abbott and Roy Crawford accepted the award from Mayor Woodside.

Maritime Carpet One sells products made from recycled materials and sustainable resources, including leather flooring made from scraps that would normally end up in the trash can. The company also sells flooring made from bamboo, cork, and hardwood as well as carpets that are made from corn sugar instead of petroleum. The company has also greened its fleet by using Fuzo, a low emission cube van.

KPMG is one of the largest audit, tax and advisory services throughout the province. KPMG staff are very environmentally conscious and every effort is made to not waste paper. The employees recycle old office furniture and the company has installed a more efficient lighting system in its building. Linda Hutchins accepted the award for KPMG.

Located in downtown Fredericton, Norah Davidson Wright’s law office has lots of unique characteristics and natural light. Both Ms. Davidson Wright and her assistant, Heather Cleveland, are very conscious of being green. There is evidence of this everywhere in her office - china mugs by the coffee maker, the office interiors are decorated with antiques, note pads of recycled paper, and post it notes that they reuse.

Green Shops was created by the City of Fredericton three years ago as a way to encourage the business community to embrace environmental sustainability. It has evolved into a Community Partnership between the City, Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Fredericton Inc., and Business Fredericton North. Coordinated by Suzie Lowthers, the program has more than 70 member businesses.