Recession is a good opportunity for businesses to analyse and self-evaluate to determine and then establish better sustainable practices. Chamber of Commerce chief executive Max Mason says the current economic climate creates a good opportunity for such analysis and is pleased to see a variety of businesses doing so; as seen on Thursday.

The Bay of Plenty Sustainable Business Network awards held at the Sebel Trinity Wharf, about 200 people, including Mayors Stuart Crosby and Ross Paterson and Tauranga MP Simon Bridges, gathered for the awards ceremony.

There were seven categories and an overall winner.
BOP productivity award won by Trevelyan's Pack and Cool Ltd.
Sustainable design and innovation award won by Devan Plastics Ltd.
Not-for-profit trailblazer award won by Energy Options Ltd.
Small business emerging award won by BOP Apparelmaster.
Small business trailblazer award won by Landscape Design Company.
Large business trailblazer award won by Bayfair Shopping Centre.
Overall winner was Bayfair Shopping Centre.

Missing from this list is the ‘large business emerging award' winner. This is because the judges did not think either of the finalists in this category; Origen, a business that provides technology solutions for local government or law firm, Sharp Tudhope Lawyers fully met the award criteria. Sharp Tudhope was awarded a highly commended award, but did not claim the full prize.
Chamber CEO Max Mason says this is strong evidence of the competition's quality and integrity, as it shows the SBN judges did not flinch from required criteria and standards.
The highlight of the night for Max though was having Bayfair win the overall award. At the ceremony, Bayfair operations manager Steve Ellingford said being sustainable is a core part of the business and is important regardless of recession.
'Even in tough times it pays to be sustainable.”
He illustrated this with some cost benefit analysis, 'We have knocked waste cost down by 43 per cent and invested in public relations with $417,000.”
What excited Max about Bayfair's achievement was that it demonstrates to the business community that sustainability is something that any business can achieve.
'There may be a perception that sustainability is for smaller, lifestyle businesses, but when you get a business like Bayfair winning, it sends a message that bigger bottom line businesses can succeed with that model.”
He says this is particularly noteworthy when it's considered that Bayfair is run by property investor, AMP Capital – a business that would not invest without strong profit expectations.
A recurring theme in the BOP during 2009 has been to utilise opportunities that arise from recession. This was shown at the Global Change Symposium, held by Priority One, in March this year, when Trade Minister Tim Grosser expressed the need for business people, 'to not waste this recession”.
The Chamber of Commerce has placed great emphasis on this notion in 2009 and has encouraged people to analyse their business operations to see what can be improved. Max says looking to improve sustainability can be a part of this for some businesses and he believes that this is an excellent time to be considering it.
'There is a reason a lot of businesses have improved their sustainability and this is an excellent time to adopt a sustainable model – this is an exciting time.”