South Australian manufacturer Kimberley-Clark Australia has won this year’s Environment Minister’s Award for a Cleaner Environment.
I was pleased to present the award today at the Banksia Foundation’s Sustainability Awards ceremony in Sydney.
Kimberley-Clark has been recognised for its commitment to creating a sustainable regional community around its Millicent Mill facility and for outstanding results in striving for a cleaner environment.
The Environment Minister’s Award for a Cleaner Environment recognises the work and contribution that business, industry, communities and individuals can make that lead to a cleaner and healthier environment.
This year the Banksia Foundation found that Kimberley-Clark had demonstrated a strong commitment to creating a totally sustainable manufacturing operation that respects not only the environment but also its workforce and community.
Judges described Kimberley-Clark as a great example of a business that had previously been a polluter taking action and cleaning up the environment.
Other award finalists were TerraCycle Australia and New Zealand and the Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa.
Over the last four years Kimberley-Clark’s waste water discharge has fallen from 35 mega litres to approximately10 mega litres a day and the waste water that flows into Lake Bonney, in the south east of South Australia, now meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Kimberley-Clark has also invested $33 million in a new energy-saving cogeneration plant, which took the Millicent Mill facility off the electricity grid and greatly reduced carbon emissions.
Kimberley-Clark is a worthy winner of the award and I hope it will inspire other companies to take action to improve their environment and their community.
More information on the Banksia Sustainability Awards finalists and winners is at http://www.banksiafdn.com/the-awards.html
(ENDS)