We recently celebrated the fifth year of the Green Leader Awards! This event recognizes environmental leaders in London and the surrounding area, featuring impactful stories of sustainability, networking with like minded individuals, and delicious food. Congratulations to our 2025 Green Leader Award winners! Learn more about all finalists here, and learn about the Environmental Network Award winners here.
Green Leader Awards: Recognizing businesses in the Green Economy London program
Green Innovation – Awarded to a member who has implemented a project over the past year that has/will have a significant impact on reducing their GHG emissions.
GreenTech Painting has served as a catalyst for environmental change and innovation in the painting industry. By rethinking every aspect of their business through a sustainability lens, they’ve created solutions that empower customers, transform operations, and strengthen the community. These include marketing campaigns, like Bee-Aware and Waste Management, that engage customers to actively participate in environmental stewardship. They also implemented an Environmental Gains & Reductions tool, which tracks and engages the customer of the environmental impact of each project on their invoice, allowing them to make informed, eco-conscious decisions. Lastly, they developed the Roll & Brush washing machine to reduce water usage by up to 90% in the brush cleaning process, and use CO2-absorbing paints and plant trees with every project. GreenTech Painting is transforming how the painting industry approaches sustainability, proving that innovation, customer engagement, and environmental responsibility can work hand in hand.
Environmental Steward of the Year – Celebrates a member’s involvement, participation, and leadership in projects and actions that positively impact the community and ecosystems of London and surrounding area.
Lerners believes that true leadership in sustainability is reflected not only in their actions, but their ability to inspire others to protect the environment. Lerners is the first law firm / legal services member of GEL and right away set and achieved the “Platinum” Environmental Stewardship goal. Initiatives undertaken by Lerners’ Environment & Sustainability Committee include the elimination of single-use plastic bottles, Installation of LittaTraps in Stormwater Drains to capture litter, debris, and pollutants before they entered waterways, multiple Earth Day and Thames River clean ups, they created two pollinator gardens to enhance local biodiversity at their Dufferin locations, engaging employees with the planting days, and have engaged in several bike-friendly business initiatives.
Circularity Award – Recognizes a member who has implemented projects that reduce and/ or divert waste at their organization.
Waste reduction is embedded in Heeman’s operations. In the fall of 2024, they revived their plastic recycling program in collaboration with other community organizations, successfully collecting 18,000 pounds of plastic pots, trays, and tags. These materials were sorted, recycled, and reused, preventing them from entering the landfills. Beyond this initiative, Heeman’s prioritizes grower containers made of recycled materials, reuses agricultural plastics, and diverts organic waste by securing commercial composting for all packaging used at the Beanery. They also utilize water recapture systems, drip irrigation, and water recycling initiatives to further circularity principles on-farm.
Green Project Implementation – Given to a member who has implemented project(s) at their facility that are inspirational, educational, effective (or all of the above) that relates to reducing the environmental impacts of their organization.
Dough EV, who was also a finalist in the innovation award category for the launch of their delivery e-bike, which reduced deliveries by car by 150 km/ month. This project was implemented through the Green Project Support stream and they partnered with another GEL member, London Bicycle Cafe for the e-bike itself. This project fostered collaboration, reduced overhead fees & emissions, resulted in happier staff, and increased profits!
Rookie of the Year – Awarded to the most active and accomplished new member of Green Economy London.
London Bicycle Café’s mission is twofold: to transform urban transportation through the adoption of e-bikes, and to create a welcoming space that celebrates and supports local, sustainable food systems. By combining these efforts, they aim to reduce the carbon footprint of commuting and dining, fostering a more sustainable community in London. In their first year of membership the London Bicycle Cafe was actively engaged in the GEL’s events and initiatives, including receiving a sustainability report and being an active partner for the Bikes for Business event within their first year of joining.
Clayworx Ceramic Arts Learning Centre joined GEL to continue to implement small, medium, and aspirational carbon reduction projects. During their first year of membership they upgraded their 2nd floor lighting from fluorescent bulbs to all LED with support from the Green Economy network’s microgrant streams. As continual environmental initiatives they use non medical plastic wrap diverted from area hospitals, use water efficiency practices while washing brushes and tools, and take their own recycling and compost home to be processed, utilize ceramic scraps for a mosaic program, diverting waste from going to the landfill, and more.
Many thanks to our sponsors for making this event possible:
