AHFA seeks entries for Sage environmental leadership award
Winner receives $2,500 to donate to charity of choice
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, August 1, 2011
HIGH POINT — The American Home Furnishings Assn. is accepting entries for the 2011 Sage Award, which recognizes environmental leadership at home furnishings and bedding companies.
Manufacturers, retailers and suppliers to the home furnishings and bedding industries that have reduced the environmental impact of their operations and continue to try to do more are encouraged to apply, officials said.
Two finalists and a 2011 winner will be announced during the fall High Point Market, Oct. 22-27.
They'll also be honored in a spotlight video highlighting their environmental efforts at the home furnishings industry's 2012 Sustainability Summit sponsored by AHFA. The date and location of the summit have not been announced.
The winner will receive a $2,500 check to be donated to the nonprofit environmental effort or charity of the recipient's choice, along with a Sage Award plaque. The winner and finalists also receive free registrations to the 2012 Sustainability Summit.
Sage Award entrants are asked to complete a detailed questionnaire that explains their sustainable business practices and documents their environmental accomplishments, the AHFA said. The questionnaire also asks applicants to provide examples of community involvement or other forms of social responsibility and requests information that demonstrates the company is financially secure.
An entry form can be found at www.SageAward.org and can be submitted electronically. There's no cost to enter. Entries must be received via email by midnight Eastern time Sept. 2.
The Sage Award website also features videos spotlighting last year's Sage Award winner, Zenda Leather, and finalists Flexsteel Inds. and TLS by Design, as well as the 2009 and 2008 winners and finalists.
Patricia Bowling, vice president of communications for AHFA, said there are three reasons to enter the Sage Awards.
"First, it's an opportunity to raise the bar of environmental stewardship and activism within our industry," she said. "By sharing the challenges and accomplishments they have experienced along their environmental journey, entrants help other companies in their quest toward more sustainable operations."
Entrants also have the opportunity to receive recognition for environmental accomplishments, Bowling said.
"Implementing sustainable practices throughout a home furnishings or bedding company is never a one-man or one-woman show. It takes commitment, involvement, enthusiasm and persistence at every level, and winning the Sage Award is a great way for your entire workforce to enjoy recognition for their efforts," she said.
Finally, Sage Award winners receive $2,500 they can use to "pay it forward," Bowling said.
2009 winner Copeland Furniture of Bradford, Vt., added another $2,500 to its winnings so that $1,000 could be contributed to each of five organizations in Vermont. Zenda Leather split its award between a family guidance center in Hickory, N.C., and a U.S.-based nonprofit that helps underprivileged mothers and children in Uruguay, where the company is based.
The Sage Award program and the Sustainability Summit are co-sponsored by Cargill's BiOH polyols business unit. Sage Award entrants do not need to be members of AHFA nor users of Cargill's BiOH polyols.
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AHFA Accepting Entries for 2011 Sage Award
Aug 24, 2011
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