Business up for awards

By Janaya Fuller-evans, Burnaby Now

Burnaby-based Williams and White Machine Inc. has twice the chance of winning at the Small Business B.C. Successful You Awards this year.

The family-owned manufacturing company, which has been in Burnaby for more than 50 years, is a finalist in the Best Company and Best Employer categories.

The other finalists in the Best Company category are Vij's Restaurant, Idea Rebel and AspenClean in Vancouver, and Discover Trekking Outfitters Ltd. in Campbell River.

In the Best Employer category, the other finalists are [Offsetters partner] Eclipse Awards, Nurses Next Door Home Care Services and The Elements Society in Vancouver, and [Offsetters partner] Tinhorn Creek Vineyards in Oliver.

The winners will be announced at the ninth annual Successful You Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Feb. 28, held from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver.

The keynote speaker is former Canuck Trevor Linden.

Hemlock thinking green

Burnaby's Hemlock Printers is working to offset climate change with its carbon-neutral printing program, Zero.

The company has offered clients the option of offsetting the emissions associated with their print job over the past two years. Thus far it has printed six million carbon-neutral pieces for more than 465 projects, according to a press release from the company.

This has offset more than 1,700 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, the release added.

The program is a partnership with Offsetters, a Canadian carbon management solutions provider.

To calculate what it would take for a print project to become carbon neutral, Offsetters has worked with Hemlock to calculate the carbon emissions from the paper's lifecycle - based on weight, grade and recycled content - as well as the emissions associated with transportation of the paper, the release stated.

Clients can then offset their climate impact by investing in high-quality renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects, it added.

The company's sustainability initiatives have given it a "green reputation," attracting large contracts and garnering awards, Richard Kouwenhoven, senior vice-president of customer service and business development, said in the release.

Originally posted on Burnaby Now