2005 Triple Bottom Line Award Winners Announced

Sustainable Business Network Recognizes Leading Local Sustainable Businesses

 
November 17, 2005: On Thursday evening, the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia held its first Triple Bottom Line Awards.  The goal of the Triple Bottom Line Awards is to recognize independent, locally owned businesses that are financially successful while demonstrating laudable social and environmental practices.  The Triple Bottom Line is a framework designed to measure a company’s performance in three areas: social impact, environmental impact and profitability.  At SBN, this is known as, “People, Planet and Profit.”  The Triple Bottom Line Awards were held at the close of the Social Venture Institute, a two-day entrepreneurial training conference sponsored by the Sustainable Business Network each fall.
 
The Triple Bottom Line Awards were made possible by lead sponsors RecycleBank, White Dog Cafe and the Women’s Opportunities Resource Center, as well as supporting sponsor Praxis Capital LP.  Awards were given in three categories: Manufacturing, Service and Retail. Nominees were judged on the following areas: social impact (both internal and external practices) and environmental impact.  Winners received a hand-blown glass award from Hot Soup Hot Glass Studio and Gallery in Old City.
 
Twelve eligible businesses received nominations for the Triple Bottom Line Awards.  The nominees were: American Reading Company, BarberGale, Close the Loop, Cosmic Catering, KI Consulting, Mesa Environmental Services, Mugshots CoffeeHouse and JuiceBar, Onion Flats LLC, Ternary Software Inc., Weaver’s Way Co-Op, Yards Brewing Company and Yikes Internet Specialists.
 
The Triple Bottom Line Award for Best Manufacturing Company went to Yards Brewing Company. Yards Brewing Company is the oldest and only surviving brewery within the city limits and is committed to the renewal of their Kensington neighborhood.  Yards Brewing Company provides local, living wage employment as the only brewery that bottles beer in Philadelphia.  Yards Brewing Company constantly monitors operations to find ways to make production more sustainable and less wasteful and does business with other local businesses whenever possible. Yards has also been extremely supportive of local non-profit organizations and community groups.  The award was accepted by Bill and Nancy Barton, owners of Yards Brewing Company.
 
The Triple Bottom Line Award for Best Retail Company was awarded to Mugshots CoffeeHouse and JuiceBar.  Voted Best of Philly 2005, Mugshots CoffeeHouse and JuiceBar is committed to making a positive contribution to the community by being mindful of the environment and their neighbors, both locally and globally.  Located in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, Mugshots sends day’s end surplus food to a local homeless shelter.  Committed to selling only fair trade coffee, Mugshots also sells organic products and buys from local farmers whenever possible. To reduce food waste, they send juice pulp and coffee grounds to Green Meadow Farms for chicken feed and composting. In turn, they purchase a variety of food items from Green Meadow Farms, including seasonal, organic fruits and vegetables, eggs, which come from cage-free vegetarian-fed hens, bacon, which comes from humanely-raised pigs, and free-range, all natural turkey breast.  They have been leaders in forming a cooperative of local independent coffee houses and reached profitability after just one year. Co-owners Jill Fink and Angie Vendetti accepted the award.
 
The Triple Bottom Line Award for Best Service Company was awarded to Yikes Internet Specialists, a web design and programming business located in Northern Liberties. Yikes Internet Specialists has been observing the triple bottom line since 1996.  Even as a small company of eight employees, Yikes pays a living wage and provides excellent benefits.  They support youth interns and have hired four former interns for full and part-time positions.  They have a strong record of charitable giving, allowing employees to choose their favorite charity, and donate thousands of dollars in pro-bono website work every year to local non-profit organizations. They have a written policy on environmental responsibility in their employee handbook and recycle paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum and glass and compost at the office.  Their office is powered by 100% renewable energy and they donate money to plant 5 seedlings for every tree’s worth of paper they use in the office.  They use an old-fashioned business model of slow, steady growth and have increased their budget by 20%.  The award was accepted by co-owners Tracy Bannett and Mia Levesque.