"Darkness cannot drive our darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that" ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today the world honours Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the amazing dreams that he brought to us all.  He touched the lives of many people in his drive for social justice, freedom, human dignitiy and civil rights.  Without a doubt, we all owe a debt a gratitude for the sacrifice that he made to improve the human experience.

In the vision of Dr. King, we believe that recognition is important for everyone, not only exceptional individuals, but it's interesting to see how he was recognized during his lifetime and beyond:

• Recognized by Time Magazine as one of the most outstanding personalities of the year, 1957
• The Spingarn Medal from NAACP, 1957.
• The Russwurm Award from the National Newspaper Publishers, 1957.
• The Second Annual Achievement Award - The Guardian Association of the Police Department of New York, 1958.
• Magazine of New Dehli recognized Dr. King as one of the sixteen world leaders who had contributed most to the advancement of freedom during 1959.
• Named American of the Decade by Laundry, Dry Cleaning, and Die Workers International Union, 1963.
• The John Dewey Award, from the United Federation of Teachers, 1964.
• The John F. Kennedy Award, from the Catholic Interracial Council of Chicago, 1964.
• The Nobel Peace Prize, 1964
• American Liberties Medallion for his “exceptional advancements of the principles of human liberty” from the American Jewish Committee, 1965
• Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 1966
• The Marcus Garvey Prize for Human Rights, presented by the Jamaican Government. (posthumously) 1968.
• The Rosa L. Parks Award, presented by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. (posthumously) 1968.
• Presidential Medal of Freedom from Jimmy Carter, (posthumously, 1977)

People such as Dr. King are a rare breed of true heroes that change the world, however we all encounter different types of heroes in our lives everyday.  They are the dreamers and doers within our communities, working hard to make the world a better place.

Do you know of heroes within your community that deserve some recognition for their efforts?

Earlier this year I had the fortune of visiting an amazing store in Kyoto called Aritsugu.  The store has a stellar reputation for making the best sushi knives in the world - they aren’t cheap, but they are the best and the quality is obvious.  It’s a small store, and the pleasant staff are happy to discuss the beautifully hand-made, metal wares on display.  What makes this store amazing though, is that it was founded in 1560 and is one of the oldest existing knifemakers in Japan!  How could a company grow for that long?  They must have been creating real, enduring value.

In many ways, the search for the lowest price is at the root of our financially unstable and short-sighted society.  The continual pursuit of ever lower prices erodes companies by forcing them to cut corners, limit service, reduce quality, lower compensation, design less, focus short-term and essentially generate less value.  Our system may not have been designed with these intentions in mind, but these are the ultimate outcomes and this is why it is so hard for small businesses to succeed and prosper over time.  How many small businesses last more than 3 years?

If we are to create sustainable financial systems that are both fair and regenerative, consumers need to consider more than simply pricing.  We need to allow companies to invest in their people and to focus on designing and innovation and creating real, enduring value.  Without that, we are simply in a slow race to the bottom.

Over the years, we’ve seen many competitors appear offering rock bottom prices that we simply can’t match. If and when something goes wrong however, they have neither the resources nor the experience to correct the situation. Usually these companies disappear within a few years because they are unsustainable in so many ways. What an unfortunate misuse of resources! Don’t we want small businesses to last for 20 years? or 50? or 500? the whole while generating value and building community?

As you might imagine, at Eclipse Awards we price our awards and services fairly and typically don’t chase competitor prices. We work to deliver value with integrity by creating beautifully hand-crafted, awards of enduring quality that convey your message of recognition.  We guarantee on-time and safe delivery without question so you don't have to worry about your awards arriving damaged or late.  We design and create your awards in-house, while also delivering legendary customer service.  We do this consistently by paying our staff a Living Wage for their skills, experience and creativity and by providing them with a healthy and inspiring workplace.  

We are 14 years into our journey of building a company founded on integrity, excellence, and making people happy.  Over that time, our concept of the value we create has evolved and expanded beyond business to also include enivonmental, social, community and cultural elements.  

What do you think?  What would a business have to do to earn your business for a lifetime? 

We all belong to many communities.  Your community at work is different from the one in your neighbourhood, and probably different from the ones in your industry, your city, your associations and so on.  Communities draw us together around different sets of ideals and values which make them unique and distinct.  So how do we know what values are shared within a community?  Often we communicate those values through the things that we choose to recognize and celebrate within a specific community.  What is held up and recognized as important?  This recognition highlights a shared value within the community and enables us to move forward together.

Within our community at Eclipse Awards, some of the things that we value are good food, healthy eating and reducing our carbon footprint.  So to celebrate and encourage these things, we launched the Brown Bag Award Program this week.  The idea behind the Brown Bag Award is to encourage our people to think about their meals, cook more,  and bring healthy food to eat at work.  We want to discourage a stressful and rushed drive somewhere at lunchtime to eat fast food.  This will save time, money and gas, while also helping with healthiness and reducing our carbon footprint.  Plus, it shouldn't be too hard to eat lunch on the green roof or near the bay door at Strawberry Fields.

Our program starts in October. Every 2 months, we'll select the staff member that has eaten at work the most times, and we'll award that person with a $300 bonus and the prestige of victory.  If there is a tie, the prize will be split.  We've made it fun and the competition is already heating up...who will win it?  Time will tell.  But just by launching this recognition program, we've already taken a step to communicate some things we value at Eclipse Awards.

What about your communities?  What are some of the things that you recognize and celebrate?  We'd love to hear your ideas!

 If you’re reading this, you probably already know that social media has quickly infiltrated our society in complex and fascinating ways.  It’s creating new social situations while also reflecting some of our most basic elements of being human.  Online communities are both a reflection and an extension of our everyday worlds and they provide us with some useful insights into ourselves.

It’s interesting to see how in both Facebook and Twitter (and to some degree LinkedIn as well), recognition has prominently emerged as one of the defining features of each community.  I’m referring to Facebook’s popular “Like” feature and the trio of recognition elements - follows, ReTweets and #followfridays - that help make Twitter unique.

One of the main elements of recognition involves publicly appreciating someone for doing something that is valued by your community.  That community might be your business or organization, your industry, your social circle, your neighbourhood or even your society.  However at any scale, being recognized in front of your peers can really make an impact.  As people, we reinforce the things that we value by celebrating them...or at least we should.  This is why we say “thank you”.  This is how communities learn shared values, become focused and move forward.

On Facebook, this element of recognition is expressed with the "Like" button.  Every time you “Like” a comment or photo, you’re letting both the poster and everyone else in that community know that you approve of what you’re seeing and that in fact, you might even like to see more of the same.  The recognition comes quickly, as it should, usually within one or two days, we learn from it and then move on.  On a personal level, we come to at least understand what kinds of things are liked and which aren’t.  And we appreciate the recognition - who hasn’t smiled after seeing a comment, link or photo light up with “Likes”?  We tend to do more of the things that are appreciated by our community and less of those that aren’t.  So by “Liking” and recognizing the things that we appreciate and value, we are helping to guide ourselves forward.

On Twitter there are at least three elements of recognition that play a major role in the social media experience. The first is the recognition from someone that appreciates you enough to “follow” what you’re doing.  By following you, they are saying that they find you interesting enough to pay attention to and apply some resources towards.  The desire to earn more followers drives many people to behaviours they feel will earn them more followers.  A second element of recognition is the idea of a Retweet or RT.  When you select a comment to Retweet and share with your community, you’re again publicly recognizing that you value that comment (and person) in some way. You're also suggesting that you want to see more like it within your community.  Lastly, there’s the reliable tradition of #FollowFriday (or the green focused  #EcoMonday) where twitter users recommend other people to follow.  As with good recognition, the #FF appreciation is direct, frequent and clear.  #EcoMonday recommendations are like green awards, recognizing leadership in sustainability.  Again, these are simply more examples of recognition - public confirmations that our values encourage this kind of behavior....whatever it may be.

Recognition can be a powerful source for changing cultures and performance - intuitively its something we all understand and want.  The reality is however, that very few organizations understand how to recognize appropriately.   In fact, most organizations don’t do any recognition at all.  

Clearly recognition plays a prominent role in at least two of the largest social phenomenons in recent years.  Why?  Because it’s fundamental to any group of people - we all want to feel recognized and appreciated. So why isn’t a culture of recognition more common in businesses and non-profit organizations?

What are the things that you value at your company, or in your community?  How do you celebrate the people who embody those values?  How do you “like” the awesome things that they do?  Let us know if you’re considering how your organization could use recognition to engage your people and create a common vision of the future...we’d be happy to help!

This week we were happy to graduate from our 2nd ClimateSmart session!  We had previously completed ClimateSmart in 2007 when the program was first launched, however this time we wanted to take a more ambitious approach to calculating our carbon inventory.  We were also excited to see how some of the commitments that resulted from our earlier participation had turned out.

The ClimateSmart workshop consists of 3 half-day sessions and some homework on your company energy bills.  The goal is to calculate how much green house gas (GHG) your company generates, then learn creative ways to make your organization more resilient by reducing your emissions.  This session was particularly fun because there were some other great companies there with us, including Saul Good, Fairware, Van Houtte, and Albion Fisheries.  The classes passed quickly as we shared stories of our successes and challenges and how we generate value from reducing our carbon footprints.  

I really like how the program helps companies look at their businesses from an energy perspective - we’ve found that this has lead us to some creative insights and serious cost savings....and we're not the only ones.

This time around, we found that our carbon reduction efforts from 2007 had really started to pay off.  We found that we had reduced our overall footprint from 31.94 tonnes in 2007 to 27.04 tonnes in 2010....a net reduction of nearly 15%.  This is significant because in 2010 we also increased our Scope 3 calculations to include all outbound shipments as we hadn’t included this in 2007.   The chart below outlines what we know about ourselves and we’re looking for meaningful metrics to incorporate.  Maybe it will be tonnes of C02 produced per $10k of revenue, or tonnes per award. 

The more data we have available, the more we can predict patterns, so as part of our ongoing commitment, we are going to be tracking our GHG data and water usage on a quarterly basis instead of annually.  We're simply building it in to our regular bookkeeping. 

Towards the end of ClimateSmart, we reviewed the goals we had written earlier for 2007-2012.  Some we had completed, some we hadn’t yet.  Some had had tremendous impact, others hadn't.  And 2012 is only a year away, then what of beyond that?  So we brainstormed some ideas for future plans:

- research rooftop solar panels owered or wind turbine system to power festive night lights
- measure and track electricity and gas consumption on a monthly basis with a view to reduction
- measure and track water consumption - gather baseline information
- purchase energy star appliances or better for equipment that needs replacing
- developing new sustainable products with local suppliers
- continue moving our company to the cloud to reduce our hardware requirements - collaborative consumption
- "Watts Up" Campaign: measure and track energy and cost savings from turning off office equipment
- encourage computer shut down at night and on the weekends
- better maintenance of equipment for higher and cleaner performance
- build an office worm composter to manage organic waste and create food for office plants
- educate staff on how to use Strathcona BIA Resource Exchange, and encourage use
- participating in the Stratcona BIA Zero Waste Challenge
- making a new "Brown Bag Award" for the person who eats in for lunch the most (reducing travel miles)

Do you have other ideas we might try?  We'll see how these play out in the years ahead.  Like so many things, our GHG inventory is an ongoing journey and one that helps us look at business in new ways.  Whatever happens, I'm sure it's going to be interesting.  But by reducing our carbon footprint as much as possible, we help decrease the carbon footprint of clients that choose us as their partner.

What is your organization doing to reduce your footprint?  Our green awards can help keep your footprint as low possible.  If you have any tips or ideas, share them here!

Last week we participated in LatinCouver’s “Carnaval del Sol” Festival - a celebration of Latin American people and sustainability in Vancouver.  Over the course of a beautiful sunny Sunday, thousands of people joined in the festivities, many of them stopping by to visit our booth where we had our green awards on display. It was definitely a celebration with lots of great food and music, although many were there to hear from Canadian environmental legend David Suzuki, Vancouver’s Green Mayor Gregor Robertson and Chief Ian Campbell, a heriditary chief of the Squamish Nation.

We were there to see these inspiring people as well, and to see them receive awards that we had made for them.  We worked with Steve Clegg to create some of our beautiful Living Edge Awards that are made from locally reclaimed maple trees.

Watch David Suzuki's inspiring speech about diversity and community.

At Eclipse, we believe that recognition has the power to accelerate change in your community.  It doesn’t matter if that community is your company or association, your neighbourhood, your city, or the very world that we live in.  It’s important to recognize and celebrate the things that we value.  Doing so helps to raise the profile of those who are recognized - building their confidence and opening up new opportunities for them to succeed.

To kick off our new feature called “The Power of Recognition: Spotlight on...” we’d like to share the story of one of our favorite people in Vancouver, Emily Jubenvill.  Emily has emerged as a tireless grass roots organizer and entrepreneur who brings positive change to all of the communities that she’s involved with.  In 2008 she took 2nd place in a worldwide contest to find the “World's Greenest Person”.  We learned of Emily through the publicity of this contest, and since then we’ve watched her get involved and really make an impact - doing great things like developing green jobs in Vancouver, building the Edible Garden Project and helping launch the Loutet Community Garden in North Vancouver, and most recently, encouraging students to vote in Canada’s latest federal election.   And so we asked her...how important was it for her to be recognized as “the World's 2nd Greenest Person” and what did it lead to? 

What award did you win?
2nd place in the Greenest Person on the Planet Contest (Greenest Person in Canada)

When did you win it?   
September 2008

How did you feel in the months and years after winning this award?  
Throughout the entire contest I felt surprised by the support and positivity that the contest generated. Rarely are contests intended to find and recognize the "everyday" people that make an effort to make a difference in their communities, and it was received very well. I felt honored to have the spot light for things that I had become so accustomed to doing in my daily life.

What has had a lasting impact on me is the responses (some I still get today) from people that I meet randomly that heard about or followed the contest and that were inspired by my story to change something in their own lives. The excitement on their faces when they told me about the garden they started or the compost bins they took to work, and how proud they were to have made these changes was incredibly inspiring for me.

Do you feel this award affected how other people perceive you?  In what ways?
It's hard to say how it has affected the way that people perceive me because I haven't asked anyone directly about it. I think that often people are eager to hear what they can learn from me, and I feel like in some ways it has given me more credentials or authority to share my thoughts or experiences. 

Did winning this award create any new opportunities for you?  If so, in what way?
I can attribute a lot of the opportunities that I've had over the last few years to winning this award - directly or indirectly. One good example is that I had the opportunity to share my story at the Fraser Basin Council's (FBC) Youth Congress and Conference; it was an amazing experience, and I met a lot of wonderful people, strengthened my public speaking skills, and built a good relationship with the FBC. Building on that relationship, I'm now on the Board of Directors for the FBC as the first youth representative. Again, it has been an incredible learning experience for me that I may not have heard about if I was not involved with the Youth Congress and Conference.

Generally speaking there were a lot of media interviews that resulted from the contest, and that was something that I had not had any prior experience with. I've used what I learned from that in media interviews representing other organizations and projects I've been working on since then (i.e. Get Your Vote On), and have really appreciated that experience.

I'm sure that there are many other direct and indirect opportunities that have been a result of this contest and recognition!  

Emily’s recognition as the Greenest Person in Canada has played an important role in her effectiveness within the community.  It didn’t create her passion and drive, however it did help expose her good work to a larger audience and open some new doors....Emily has used that as a springboard and done the rest.

If you’d like to know more about the amazing sustainability and community work that Emily does, follow her adventures on Twitter or on her blog at www.urbanwren.wordpress.com.  Keep up the great work Emily! 

Are there any heroes in your community that could benefit from a greater profile and a wider audience?  Perhaps recognition could help take them to the next level.  Let us know if we can help.

The last few months we’ve really been pushing ourselves on a lot of great new recognition projects, so we decided to take a little time to have some fun and do something different.

So yesterday we held our first ever Eclipse Awards Paper Airplane Contest for our staff.  Anticipation undulated throughout the week as our extreme Vancouver weather went back and forth between torrential rain and hail to beautiful sunshine.  Luckily, the weather eventually cooperated enough for us to have a BBQ lunch and then launch our paper planes from the green roof.

The wind was strong, but it wasn’t enough to stop our production team who were the big winners of the day, walking away with both prizes for Longest Flight and Longest Hang Time.    Ronan won gift certificates to the local eatery Deacon’s Corner, while CY won the newly minted “Stroll in at Noon” Award (valid for coming into work at noon one day).

Why a paper airplane contest?  Each of us is closely focused on the work that we do.  It takes creativity, close attention to details and experienced craftsmanship to produce beautiful awards under tight timelines.  So the art of designing and making flying origami paper airplanes seemed like a fun way to exercise the same skills, but in a different way.  We also liked the fact that we could do it right at our office, everyone could be involved, and it was a great way to reuse some of the unsolicited fax paper that we had (our friends at ClimateSmart will be happy!)

It makes sense that our production team were the big winners - they’re so skilled with their hands and it shows up in the exceptional awards that they produce every day.  We’re lucky to have them on our team!

If you’re looking for a fun team-building event with a low-carbon footprint, we would definitely recommend a paper airplane contest.  It was so much fun, we might even hold another one this summer....if you're interested, sign up here.

Today, after months of design and collaboration, Union Gospel Mission (UGM) unveils the donor recognition wall that we built for them at 601 East Hastings.  The donor wall, which we’re referring to as "the world’s largest donor recognition wall made entirely from reclaimed materials", marks the opening of UGM’s new building and recognizes the significant donors that helped make the new community facility possible.  Even Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson was there for the opening ceremony.

UGM has a long history in our community of the Downtown Eastside, and they do some important work in terms of providing help to those that need it most (check out some of their stories here).  In fact, their goal is to end homelessness and cyclical poverty.  Working with them was a pleasure, and we tip our hat to their creativity and willingness to explore the use of reclaimed materials.

We also discovered that both Eclipse Awards and UGM share a belief that there is beauty and value in everything, when we choose to see it.  It doesn't matter if it's people or materials or organizations.  We can recognize and celebreate the good elements in them all.

For Eclipse Awards, this project was a real milestone in many ways because it beautifully combined so many of the things that are important to us:  recognition, sustainability, collaboration and community.

Recognition:  this is at the core of everything we do.  It’s so important to recognize the things that we value and appreciate, so building a large scale donor wall to celebrate the people that made UGM’s new building possible was a great fit.  The donor wall is a thoughtful public testament to how much UGM values its contributors and the people who make its mission possible.

Sustainability: we are passionate about creating beauty from reclaimed materials, so the opportunity to create an installation of this scale with a client that shares the same values, was truly unique.  We used recycled glass to make the fish “plaques” and then sandblasted them with donor names.  We fashioned salvaged pine beetle wood, traditionally a waste product, into unique and beautiful bread accents.  And we created the remaining fish out of aluminum, one of the most highly recycled metals that exists.  Incorporating all of these elements into a project of this size really confirmed our belief that there is value and beauty in all things.  Installing the donor wall only 2 blocks away from our office in Strathcona didn’t hurt either.

Collaboration:  our work becomes really exciting when we get the opportunity to collaborate on new projects.  It’s always a challenge to figure out how we can work together in a way that creates value for everyone involved.  UGM's new facility was the result of collaboration between all 3 levels of government.  The donor wall was a collaboration of UGM's vision and ideas with our experience and creativity.  Even our team got got to work together in new ways as we managed the installation over several days.  Check out the time lapse video below:

Community:  being an active member of our community is also an important part of who we are.  Strathcona and the Downtown Eastside are simply a part of our company.  So when the relationships that we’ve built in the community blossom into to new business relationships, it helps reinforce the idea of businesses as engines of revitalization.  

At over 12’ high and 20’ wide, we believe that UGM’s installation truly is the world's largest donor recognition wall made from reclaimed materials.  It shows that we can accomplish amazing things when we collaborate and think outside the box.  Most importantly though, it shows that there really is beauty and value in all things, when we choose to see it.

Like a runner hitting the perfect stride, today marks our 13th Anniversary at Eclipse Awards.  Glancing back over our shoulder it warms our hearts to see 13 years’ worth of smiling faces and happy clients along the sidelines.  Over that time, we have learned and grown and evolved, eventually emerging as one of the world’s most respected suppliers of recognition awards.  Most importantly, we’ve learned how to make people happy, while also generating financial, social and environmental value in the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

As with any birthday or anniversary, it’s a time to reflect on what we’ve learned, and also to look ahead at what we hope to accomplish.  The recent years have been filled with a great mix of experiences and milestones: 

• we’ve elaborated on our idea of Regenerative Marketing 
• Eclipse Awards was one of the first companies in BC to commit to the Living Wage Campaign
• we continue to develop beautiful green awards made from reclaimed materials
• we built and installed the world’s largest donor wall made from reclaimed materials only 2 blocks from our office (check back on April 18th for the full story)
• we’ve built over 4500 sq.ft. of new green space through 2 green roofs and 3 community gardens
• we've designed a new version of the LEED Canada plaque for the Canada Green Building Council
• our company is now powered 100% by natural light, green gas, and wind-powered energy
• my staff has enabled me to spend 20% of my time to building community and developing the Strathcona Green Zone;  highlights included Sustainability 3.0 and helping to launch the SBIA resource exchange.
• Of course, this is in addition to the thousands of beautiful awards that we hand-craft each year  with the sole intention of making people feel appreciated and celebrated.

What does the future hold for Eclipse Awards?  We’ll definitely continue to explore and share our experiences on the many facets of recognition and how it can strengthen your organization.  In fact, we’re already developing some new ways to harness the power of recognition for social change...stay tuned!.  We’ll continue to design more beautiful awards out of reclaimed materials, trying to create more from less.  And of course we’ll continue to explore our social and environmental commitments, trying to find ways to weave these into the value that we create as a company.    It’s the challenge and excitement of mixing all of these ingredients together in a magical way that is our passion!

So in keeping with our tradition, we wanted to share 13 of the most important ingredients to doing business that we’ve discovered so far:

1. Treat everyone with equal respect
We may have different jobs and responsibilities, but in the end, we are all simply people trying to make our way in this world.  The energy we put out is the energy we receive back.

2. Your people are your greatest asset
Work with great people, let them do their job, and find ways to make sure they feel happy and engaged.  These are the people that will work hard for you, generate ideas for you, solve problems for you...or not.  Recognize their efforts and appreciate them.

3. Recognition is powerful
It speaks to a basic human need that we all have to feel valued and appreciated and part of a community.  Recognition empowers people and creates new opportunities for them.  It helps engage them in your community and culture.  Happy people make  organizations stronger.

4. Put your clients’ minds at ease
Find out all of the things that might worry your clients, then put systems and policies in place to address them.  Erase any worries from their minds.  See #5.

5. Be bold & daring
If you make a guarantee, make it a strong one and stand behind it.  If you embrace technology or sustainability, do it in a way that sets you apart from others.  Businesses are amazing vehicles – think outside the box and unleash your creativity!

6. Embrace sustainability
It’s already happened. “Going green” is simply the evolution of how we do business and how we choose to relate to one another and our planet. Understanding sustainability is the single greatest investment that you can make towards your future success.

7. Choose simplicity over complexity
Wherever possible, remove excess and make things easier for everyone. Design simple systems and simple policies. Leonardo Da Vinci said  “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”.

8. If you make a mistake, take responsibility & fix it quickly (without complaining)
It’s inevitable – at some point a mistake will happen.  When it does, we accept responsibility and do our best to fix it, whatever the cost.  It’s how we handle ourselves when things go wrong that is the most important.

9. Enjoy yourself!
Have fun with the people you work with and the people you work for!  Take care of business, but don’t take yourself too seriously.

10. “Full effort is full victory”
Like Mahatma Gandhi said, "Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment.  Full effort is full victory".  Take satisfaction in your commitment to an idea or a task - give it everything.  This is even more important than the eventual outcome.  Commit yourself to service and to making people happy.

11. Get involved in your community
 A business is more than something to simply generate dollars.  It’s about putting your time and resources into enriching the community you’re located in.  This is how we will change the definition of value, as businesses become engines of community regeneration.

12. Collaborate
It’s hard to do everything alone, and not much fun. Find creative new ways to work with your staff, your suppliers, other organizations in your community, even your competitors.  All business happens within an ecosystem, and we can accomplish a lot more together than we can alone.

13. Don’t base your decisions simply on dollars
In business school, they teach that everything comes down to money.  However in reality, the truly magical and wonderful things happen when we de-prioritize money and focus on other things such as beauty, happiness, integrity, community and creating memorable experiences.

So there you have it, the essence of our brand of doing business at Eclipse Awards.  Today more than ever, people want to feel valued and appreciated.  They want to feel celebrated as part of a community, and we can help you do that with beautifully crafted recognition awards.  What will the next 13 years hold?  Only time will tell, but we’ll be ready to react and adapt!

We’d love to hear your comments!  Is there something we’ve missed or overlooked?  Let us know so that we can learn from you.

Today we’re proud to announce that Eclipse Awards has become one of the first companies in North America to be 100% powered by green natural gas.  This means that all of the natural gas that we use to heat our building and water (123 gigajoules in 2010) is now reclaimed from renewable, organic waste materials instead of non-renewable fossil fuels.  Add this to the fact that we’re already 100% wind powered and it now means that we’re totally powered by sustainable energy through bullfrog power.

Why is this important?  To us, it’s simply part of our continued efforts to reduce our footprint on the environment, while also leading by example.  So when clients choose to work with us for their recognition awards, they’re not only making a great business decision, they’re also making the best decision that they can for the environment.  It’s an extension of our commitment to excellence in service, workmanship, reliability and social responsibility.

At Eclipse, our goal is to maximize the beauty and value that we create, while also minimizing the resources that we consume - and we’re proud of the commitments we’ve made in the process.  Nearly two years ago, after redesigning our office with energy efficient lighting and adding extensive skylights for lots of natural light, we made the commitment to become 100% wind powered for all of our remaining use of electricity.   We trained ourselves to turn off anything not in use.  We even developed a virtual way of displaying our awards to reduce the number of samples we were shipping.  Now, with the addition of 100% green natural gas, we’re helping to create a market for a sustainable energy source, while also finding a way to create more value out of waste materials.

To learn more about how green natural gas is produced and what it’s benefits are, take a look at this video:



Energy is something we all use, often without thinking about it. Once you’ve reduced your energy consumption as much as possible, consider some of the creative alternatives out there to reduce your footprint even more.  You might even enjoy yourself in the process!

Eclipse Awards is located in Strathcona, a diverse light industrial/residential area of Vancouver that, over the past few decades, has become characterized by lots of concrete, barbed wire, fences and barred windows.   We've come to believe that this harsh and sometime cold environment contributes to the many social challenges we face in the area - it certainly doesn't instill any sense of inspiration or improvement!

So a few years ago we built our first garden on the street outside of the Blueberrry Building at 121 Heatley, our office at the time.  Our goal was to soften the streetscape and create a healthier and more beautiful space that could be enjoyed by everyone that lived and worked here. 

We hired some students to dig out the dead soil and replaced it with rich organic soil and promptly planted it with flowers and lavender.  We didn't know what to expect, but we were surprised and amazed by the reaction of the people in the community - they loved it!  In fact, they loved it so much that they wanted to start taking care of it and protecting it.  Once they saw that other people were taking pride in their environment, they started to do the same - respect nurtures respect. 

To this day, this little stretch of land is used continually to plant flowers and vegetables by people with no access to land or nature.  In terms of size, its only a small strip of garden, but the lessons we learned have been huge.

Since that time over 5 years ago, we've trucked in over 12 tons of organic soil to build 2 street level gardens and 2 green roofs.  We've created over 4500 sq.ft. of new green space and contributed to projects like the SOLEfood urban farm getting off the ground.  It's simply a part of how we contribute to and integrate with our community, and part of developing the Strathcona Green Zone.  It's also how we measure the value that our company creates and part of our regenerative marketing.

In fact, just today we're working to complete our 3rd street level garden.  We created the planter box completely out of reclaimed materials and leftover membranes that we had from our latest green roof.  We partnered with another Strathcona company doing great green things, (read Emma's "Crawling Toward Sustainability" blog series in Granville)  Bruce Carscadden Architects, to share in the delivery of soil as they are also building a garden in front of their office.  One things we've found is that moving soil is neither cheap nor easy - it can take a lot of hard work to get it into place!  Today in the rain we enlisted the help of Diamond Dave, our local man in the field and a front line soldier in keeping our streets clean...nice work Dave!

To try and multiply the number of gardens in our community, the Strathcona Business Improvement Association has applied to the Aviva Community fund for $80,000 in funding to help build dozens of micro-gardens.  Imagine the inspiration of seeing this community bloom and grow as the heart of the greenest city in the world!  Imagine the jobs we can create!  Imagine the world that you want to live in!

*****Update*****

We've reached the semi-finals and are now up against 30 other projects.  Starting December 2nd, we need your votes and support to make this happen!

You can help us make this a reality by logging on to the Aviva website, registering, then returning to the Strathcona Community Micro-Gardens project place to vote.  You can vote once a day from December 2nd 9am PST unti Decemer 15th, and every vote counts!

Can gardens really help to change a community?  We believe they can by providing beauty, inspiration, and a connection with nature.  So help make Vancouver's Downtown Eastside a vision of what is possible  - vote and spread the word!

Today Eclipse Awards joined dozens of other Vancouver businesses in becoming a founding member of the Businesses for Bikes campaign.  As Vancouver moves towards becoming the greenest city in the world, we need to make decisions as to what modes of transportation we will invest in.

We have always believed that people do their best work when they are healthy and happy, and cycling is a great way to contribute to both health and happiness.  In fact, at Eclipse we have 4 bikes on hand for staff to use at any time and also also offer per/km incentives for those that choose to walk or cycle to work instead of driving.  Less gas, more exercise, faster travel...it just makes good sense.

So in honor of Businesses Supporting Bikes, we're running a guest blog post on "Bike to Work Week" from our friends @FairwarePromo who are avid cyclists.  This was originally posted in on April 13, 2010 and written by Leah Nielsen (twitter: @Leahlink)  We hope you enjoy it!

Bike to Work Week is fast approaching. At Fairware we’re almost ready to go. Half of us have our bikes out for the season and a couple colleagues will be pulling theirs out in the coming weeks. Fairware is well set-up for cycling staff. We have a shower in the bathroom, adequate bike storage, a casual dress code and central Vancouver location. Plus, we love bikes and the passion is contagious.

There are many benefits to businesses that encourage staff to commute by active transportation including better employee retention, less sick days, improved morale, productivity and more. From an employee perspective, it feels good to get a little exercise before and after work and it’s a nice break from public transit. Plus it’s fun!

Here in Vancouver, the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition manages Bike to Work Week – and helps mobilize workplaces across the Vancouver Region to get staff out of their cars.

Is your workplace ready for the fair weather bike season? If you’re looking for direction, we found some great online guides for helping offices become more bike-friendly. We’ve included a list of our favourite links at the end of this post.

Check out this excellent article in Momentum Magazine which outlines some of the more innovative cash and tax incentives being offered in places like San Francisco, Oregon, the UK, and Australia. Pretty exciting stuff!

How is your office preparing for Bike to Work Week? Leave a comment below.

And stay tuned, we’re in the process of adding more products to the Bike to Work section on our website. It’s filled with useful products to promote your commitment to active lifestyles and sustainable transportation.

Guides to help your office become cycle-friendly:

Employer’s Commuting Guide: Is promoting bike commuting right for you? – San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

Be a Bike Friendly Workplace – Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition

The Cycle-Friendly Workplace: Your step-by-step guide – Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Water Resources, Department of Health and Ageing

A Guide for Employers: Getting your workplace cycle-friendly – London Cycling Campaign

Employer Guide to Bicycle Commuting – Baltimore Metropolitan Council and Baltimore Regional Transportation Board

Next week is an event called "Sustainability 3.0: Redefining Green" that I'm really proud of and excited about.  It's the third annual sustainability expo hosted by the Strathcona Business Improvement Association (SBIA), a local organization I've been a board member of for over 6 years, and vice-chair of for 4.  Last year, Sustainability 2.0 featured Majora Carter from Sustainable South Bronx and the year before at Sustainabilty 1.0 our current Mayor Gregor Robertson gave the keynote.  I typically donate 20% of my time towards community building, so seeing events like this come to life is particularly rewarding and it helps to reinforce the social mission of Eclipse Awards.

As you would expect, Sustainability 3.0 will address the business case for sustainability - why it's important and why companies should care.  The keynote speaker this year will be Bob Willard - thought leader and author of three books including The Sustainability Advantage.  The event will also feature shorter Pecha Kucha-like presentations by Kira Gerwing, city planner for Vancouver's Downtown Eastside;  Brian Dodd, executive director of United We Can and SOLEfood;  Mark Trotzuk, CEO of Eco-Apparel;  and Sophie Agbonkhese, Vancouver's first BIA sustainability coordinator.  There will be ample time for networking, as well as a green marketplace showcasing products and ideas from progressive Strathcona companies like Saul Good Gift Co, Agro Cafe, bullfrogpower, Gulf & Fraser Financial Group, and of course Eclipse Awards.  The refreshments at these events has become legendary, and this will be no exception with the amazing One Planet Catering providing delightful local food and drink.  We'll also be launching the Strathcona Resource Exchange, an innovative new program that allows business to exchange unused resources, while also creating green jobs.

More importantly though, Sustainability 3.0 will highlight that there is indeed a movement happening in Strathcona. Companies are locating here to become part of this unique community, and they are learning that working in collaboration is better than working in competition.  A single company can only become so green on its own, however once it starts to work with other organizations and truly integrate into it's community, magical things start to happen - things that can't be accomplished alone.  Beyond recycling, and changing lightbulbs, and energy conservation metrics, sustainability is ultimately about community and culture.  What do we value and celebrate as a society, and how do we want to relate to one another?  That's the thinking behind the Strathcona Green Zone.

In Strathcona, we've set the ambitious goal of becoming Vancouver's Green Zone - heart of the greenest city in the world.  We want to educate companies about the principles of sustainability and how they can apply them to strengthen their own organizations.  However, we also want them to look outwards to see how they can collaborate with other businesses, residents and artists.  We are creating a community that will attract like-minded businesses and organizations to the area, and supporting them with unique services and celebration.  The strongest and most interesting ecosystems are also the most diverse, and this is no different with communities.  Here in Strathcona we value diversity and collaboration, business and the arts - and we use sustainability as the framework to draw them all together.  Best of all, there is room for everyone to participate, contribute, learn and connect!

Sustainability 3.0 is a free event and open to all (click here to register), with the purpose of inspiring the communities of Strathcona, the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver and beyond.

The event will be held at the historic Japanese Language Hall from 3-7pm on Sept. 28th at 475 Alexander St. in Vancouver, BC.

You don't want to miss this one!

This week, Eclipse Awards proudly became the 8th company in Vancouver, BC to be recognized as a member of the Living Wage for Families Campaign . 

This commitment is simply an extension of our belief that people are the most important part of any organization. We find ourselves amongst a group of early adopters who see this as a tremendous opportunity to re-weave our social fabric.  Our staff work hard to ensure that Eclipse Awards performs at the level that it does, and in return we try to recognize them as best we can.  Our company already provides our staff with incentives towards zero-emissions vehicles, walking to work, and using public transit - we're simply adding one more commitment to help provide them with a good quality of life.

What is a Living Wage?

A Living Wage is different from the minimum wage, which is a minimum legislated by the government.  A Living Wage reflects a higher standard that people need to support their families based on the actual costs of living.  In 2010 post-Olympics Metro Vancouver, now aiming to be the Greenest City in the World by 2010, the living wage happens to be $18.17 per hour (as of August).  If you're interested to see how close you are to a living wage, check out the Living Wage Calculator.

What does this mean to our customers?

Some people are concerned that with higher wages, the costs of everything else will go up.  However, we have found the opposite to be true.  In fact, there are several great things that happen when you recognize your staff and appreciate them with a living wage.  Sustainability starts with people.

Here are the top 5 benefits of a Living Wage for you, our customers:

1.  Happy people do beautiful work - when you feel appreciated and engaged, it shows in your work.  The recipients of the awards we make can feel the love that goes into them!

2.  Staff that feel engaged stay with the company and provide consistency.  All of our staff have been employed here for a minimum of two years - we don't use transient staff that are simply looking to pass the time.

3.  We pay people and develop their skills.  We encourage our staff to learn and grow.  We invest in them and give them room to develop.  Recently, our Nelson Borges became Western Canada's first Certified Recognition Professional.

4.  We attract great people to work at Eclipse Awards - our commitment to excellence and sustainability attracts the best people, and they in turn improve our company and service.

5.  Our staff are dedicated to their work and to you - they approach their work as professionals and take pride and ownership of what they do.  You will notice this when you work with us.

The value of Eclipse Awards as your partner depends on the skills and talents of our staff.  Our performance shows in the quality of the awards we produce, the responsiveness of our service and the experience that we share with you.  

With our involvement in the Living Wage Campaign, you can be sure that we are committed to providing you with the best value and customer experience in the awards industry!

As the official awards and trophy sponsor of the Professional Golfers' Association of BC (PGA of BC), we often get asked about what it takes to plan a great golf tournament and the role that crystal golf trophies can play.  It takes an incredible amount of organization and logistical planning to create an successful event, and the trophies that you select can make the difference between a good tournament and an unforgettable one.

Too often though, we see event planners overlook trophies for their golf tournament, simply considering them as an afterthought.  In many ways, planning a successful golf tournament is like cooking a great meal - bringing together the right quality ingredients in the right proportions at the right times to create that memorable WOW!-factor. 

Think of your golf trophies as the dessert - after a gourmet meal, everyone expects and looks forward to that perfect finish to cap off the event.  The difference between traditional plastic or tin golf trophies and a beautiful crystal golf trophies is like the difference between twinkies and hand made creme brule - one is predictable at best, while the other leaves you wanting to come back for more.

So if you're in charge of planning a golf event and you want to make it successful and memorable, be sure to budget some resources for trophies and consider these 5 things when choosing your golf trophies:

1.  People love trophies.  From our earliest memories we associate trophies with winning.  Trophies are tangible proof that we are the best at something and they give us something to display and be proud of.  Make sure that your event has some great trophies that people will want to win and compete for.  Crystal golf trophies can lend class and elegance to your event.  Eco-friendly, green golf trophies can underline your commitments to the environment.

2.  Trophies symbolize the stature of your event.  Big golf tournaments require beautiful trophies and awards.  Similarly, beautiful trophies and awards can create big tournaments.  How do you want people to perceive your event?  The trophies that you present will give them a strong visual clue that could be positive or negative.  This is why we recommend using quality made golf trophies for your event.

3.  Your golf trophies will become the lasting symbols of your event.  If you've done it right, the trophies will sit proudly displayed by the winners for years to come.  What message will these silent sentinels be sending out during that time?  How many people will see them?  What will they think of your event and organization?  Be sure that your trophies are creating a positive buzz for years to come!

4.  Quality trophies attract quality sponsors and players.  It's true - people want to be associated with quality and success.  Every year we watch golf event planners grow their tournaments after incorporating a trophy program or using crystal golf trophies.  More players, more sponsors and bigger sponsors.  Word travels quickly, so be sure that your golf tournament is associated with quality and success.

5.  The golf trophies you present are a reflection of your organization.  Quite simply , do you want your organization to be perceived as thoughtful and successful, or careless and unorganized?

With some careful planning and consideration, anyone can organize a successful golf tournament or fundraiser.  Just remember to have all of the important ingredients on hand and make sure you consider quality.  Done properly, beautiful golf trophies can raise your tournament to the next level and help create an unforgettable event.

If you're looking for some assistance or suggestions in planning your golf tournament, contact Nelson at our office - he is a Certified Recognition Professional and would be happy to help.

Last week, Eclipse Awards entered a four-year sponsorship agreement to support the Adoptive Families Association of BC (AFABC).  We enjoyed woring with them last year, and will continue to do so, providing recognition awards to help them appreciate the people and organizations that are supporting the good work of the AFABC.

Why is this important to us?  At Eclipse Awards we contribute a large amount of our resources towards building a stronger community.  We believe that strong communities are the foundation of our society, and that strong families are the foundation of strong communities.  All of this is tied together through the power of love and the bonds that we share as people.  Adoption brings together the power of love and family in a healthy and important way.  It provides children with families and a safe place for them to grown and develop.  So supporting adoption supports strong familes, which supports stronger communities.

This year's awards helped to celebrate the people and organizations who are making a difference through volunteerism and leadership:

Tania Elvin accepts her award from AFABC Board Member Sarah Phillips

2010 Spirit Award - Corporate
Presented to a Business who has made a contribution to activities of AFABC
Winner:  HSBC

2010 Adoption in Action Award
Recognizes a BC business or organization that offers excellent adoption benefits.
Winner:  Ernst & Young

2010 AFABC Champion Award
Acknowledges the dedication, hard work and outstanding contribution of a volunteer.
Winner:  Tania Elvin

2010 Helen Mark Excellence in Adoption Award
This lifetime achievement award recognizes an outstanding contribution to children and families and to adoption in BC.
Winner:  Lex Reynolds

Christine Little accepting the Adoption in Action Award on behalf of Ernst & Young from AFABC Board Director & Award Commitee Chair Susi Proudman

We congratulate all of the award winners and nominees for their thoughtful and selfless efforts to build stronger communities by building stronger families!

Be sure to keep an eye out in 2011 when nominations for their awards open again.

As with any cause or movement - be it adoption, the environment, volunteerism, safety, excellence, leadership or equality - recognition can help to create new leaders and empower emerging ones.  It's important to take the time to appreciate and value the behaviour you want to see - whether it's in your team, your organization, your community, or our society as a whole.

Everyone appreciates being recognized for their efforts.  Who are the heroes in your community? 

Last week we returned from an epic conference of the Recognition Professionals International (RPI) Association in Henderson, Nevada.  For Eclipse Awards, the conference was a success on many levels - over 5 days we attended workshops and courses, learned best practices from Fortune1000 HR managers and recognition professionals, displayed our crystal awards while introducing our new line of green awards, and generally gained a deeper understanding of the power of recognition and acknowledgement to strengthen an organization.  In addition, our resident recognition guru Nelson Borges even became Western Canada's first Certified Recognition Professional (CRP) after 4 days of intensive training.  In the coming weeks, we'll be sharing more of this knowledge, but for now, here is an overview of the conference.

The RPI conference provided an opportunity to network with HR managers from massive organizations that manage thousands of staff - 5000, 20000 or even 75000 people!  Companies like United Airlines, Delta Airlines, DirectTV, BELL, TD Canada Trust, T-Mobile and Wells Fargo were in attendance, as were organizations like the University of Florida, Ohio State University Medical Center, City of Calgary, and McGill University Health Care.  There were even attendees from India and the Netherlands.  In all, an amazing cross section of recognition professionals that provided unique insights into the current state of employee engagement, motivation and best practices.  Here are the top 10 key learnings, and though some may seem simple on the surface, they have some deep implications:

1. recognition helps reinforce positive behaviours and improves employee performance through improved attitude and morale. Recognition also improves employee engagement and commitment.
2. your staff can be engaged, unengaged, or actively disengaged.  Their state will directly affect their performance and productivity. A recent Gallup study showed that on average, 27% of staff are engaged, 59% aren’t engaged, and 14% are actively disengaged.
3. engaged employees work over 50% harder and are 9 times less likely to leave.  Unengaged staff are contagious. Actively disengaged staff are acting out their unhappiness at work.
4. employee engagement is a strategy, not a tactic. To be successful, it requires buy-in from all levels.
5. employees today want to work in service of something larger than themselves - they want to be engaged.  How can you provide them with that opportunity?
6. the ability to recognize and acknowledge well is a leadership competency. Recognition is the role of many people in an organization, not just one person.
7. people don't leave companies, they leave managers.
8. acknowledgement builds trust and creates powerful interactions.  Acknowledgement energizes people while lack of acknowledgement dulls them.
9. positive reinforcement is 17 times more effective than negative reinforcement
   • it takes 4 positive statements to undo the effects of one negative statement
10. every interaction with staff is an opportunity to engage them in a positive way.  Say "thank you" often - people watch and model the recognition behaviour of those in charge.

Needless to say, we learned a lot of from these large organizations and their approach to recognition and awards.  We'll explore these ideas more deeply in future posts as there are rich concepts here that can help any organization improve it's performance and effectiveness.

The conference was also an opportunity to launch our new line of eco-friendly, green awards.  Just as we learned from the large organizations, we felt that we were able to take our experience with sustainability and green awards and influence their thinking as well.  On an individual level, people loved the look of our green awards - particularly the Chocolate Walnut Canopy Plaque Awards, Roots Awards and recycled glass pieces.  Quite simply, there are no other awards like these available in the world today - beautiful green awards, made thoughtfully and responsibly by a company that has embraced sustainability.  As more and more organizations "go green" they will need the recognition awards that are consistent with the values of their organization and the values of the award recipients.  At Eclipse Awards, we will continue to source more reclaimed materials and develop more green awards that will help elevate your message of sustainability and excellence.

Lastly, Eclipse Awards would like to recognize the efforts of Nelson Borges who became British Columbia's first Certified Recognition Professional!  Several days of intensive training with industry leading recognition professionals covered topics such as:

• Structuring Recognition Systems for Success
• Strategic Planning & Measurement of Recognition Programs
• Recognition Management & Maintenance
• Applying Recognition Systems and Using Recognition Awards

Nelson, who's known as our resident recognition guru, uses his knowledge and experience to add to the value of Eclipse Awards as your recognition partner. Nelson is a great person to know if you’re going to use recognition awards, or if you’re planning a golf tournament that requires golf awards. You can also get in touch with him if you’re planning to implement a recognition program and want to learn more about best practices.

The world of business is changing at a rapid rate and we need new ways to engage our staff and make committed employees. The power of recognition and acknowledgement is quickly becoming the new competitive advantage.

How are you and your organization keeping your staff engaged and appreciated?

Every once in awhile, a business passes a turning point – when something changes and a new world of opportunities emerges. Sometimes you see them coming, sometimes you don't.  With the launch of our new green awards after nearly a year in development, we feel that we're well prepared for this turning point at Eclipse Awards and in the recognition industry.

We developed these green awards for our clients – for the amazing organizations and people out there that are changing the world!  Our green awards were designed with the principals of sustainability in mind, using as few virgin materials as possible, while still creating beautiful and impressive awards that will bring smiles to people’s faces.  Green awards make it easier to recognize sustainability and excellence in a way that is consistent with your values.

Our recycled glass awards are made by a social enterprise from 100% post consumer reclaimed glass.  Our Live Edge green awards include wood from locally salvaged trees and are designed to use minimal resources.  Note that the Canopy Wall Plaques and Living Edge Awards have only 2 metal standoffs, instead of 4 as you might expect.

We’re working with as many local suppliers as we can, while continuing to develop more local capacity.  Of course, we are still continuing to develop our green roof and other initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint another 20% by 2013.  It’s a continual process that drives Eclipse Awards forward.

In today’s rapidly evolving world, more and more organizations are recognizing their staff to engage them and build community.  If sustainability is on your agenda, then your recognition awards should reflect that.  When you’re recognizing excellence in sustainability, using thoughtfully made, beautiful green awards will amplify your message, not detract from it. 

This afternoon, we’re off to Henderson, Nevada to attend the Recognition Professionals Association’s Annual Conference.  In part, we’re there to introduce our new green awards to HR Managers and other recognition professionals.  However we’re also there to learn more about recognition programs and how they can help make organizations more successful by making stronger teams.

Our world is changing and we need new ways to engage staff in ways that resonate with their values and beliefs.  How can we continue to make people happy and move our organizations in the directions we want?

Stay tuned as well as we share how these green awards were designed and some of the challenges we faced in making them a reality. 

In the meantime, we'd love to hear what you think so far.  Could these awards help your organization?

Today at Eclipse Awards we're excited to join the Recognition Professionals Association.  It’s our first time with this group and we’re looking forward to learning from the new ideas and people that it will expose us to.  Of course, we’re also looking forward to exposing them to our green awards and our approach to recognition.

As the economy continues to evolve, recognition is more important now than ever.  The growth of organizations like the Recognition Professionals Association (RPA) and the Awards and Recognition Association (ARA) are a testament to the fact that more people want to understand the power of recognition and how it can be used to improve performance and make people happy.

At Eclipse Awards we were members of the ARA for over 10 years.  In fact, we still look forward to their annual awards convention in Las Vegas.  People from around the world gather there to see the latest in crystal awards, green awards, golf & sports trophies, and employee recognition awards.  This year though, we wanted to explore some fresh ideas, which lead us to join the RPA – largely because their philosophy of “Encouraging Excellence” is similar to ours.

The idea of associating with like-minded professionals is certainly not new.  The explosion of social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are a testament to the fact that we want to connect with other people and build community.  We want to learn from one another and share our experiences and best practices.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a recognition professional, a sustainability consultant, a school teacher, or a CEO – we all want to feel as though we’re part of a group.

And ultimately, recognition is about building groups and building communities– it’s about rewarding and encouraging the behaviours and people we like, and discouraging those that we don’t.  Through positive feedback loops we can begin to create the larger communities that we want to be a part of.  We believe that recognition and recognition awards can play a big role in this, which is why we've become members of the Recognition Professionals Association.

What communities and associations are you a part of?  How would you like to see them change and improve?  How do you recognize and reward the things you’d like to see?

Today marks our 12th anniversary at Eclipse Awards - the start of our 12th year in the business of creating beautiful awards and making people happy!  Over that time we’ve evolved from a small 2 person office in Yaletown, to one of the world’s leading suppliers of personalized recognition awards located in the heart of the Strathcona Green Zone. It’s been an ongoing journey of growth, improvement and refinement as we’ve learned how to make clients happy, while generating financial and social value as a company.

We’ve also come to understand some of the surprising intricacies about the power of recognition – how it can motivate and engage people, how it can create new opportunities for them, how it can strengthen organizations, how it can help build community, and most importantly, how it can make people happy.  Crystal awards, green awards, spoken words, gift cards…they are all simply different ways of saying “thank you” and letting people  know how they are appreciated.

One of the great things about business is that it’s kind of like cooking - there are so many different ingredients to choose from, and yet how you choose to put them together can mean the difference between an amazing experience and an average one.  So in light of how far we’ve come (and how far we have yet to go) we wanted to share 12 of the most important “ingredients” to doing business that we’ve discovered so far:

1. Treat everyone with equal respect.  We may have different jobs and responsibilities, but in the end, we are all simply people trying to make our way in this world and the energy that you put out, is the energy you receive back.

2. Put your clients’ minds at ease.  Find out all of the things that might worry your clients, then put systems and policies in place to address them.  Erase the worries from their minds.

3. Be bold.  If you make a guarantee, make it a strong one and stand behind it.  If you embrace technology or sustainability, do it in a way that sets you apart from others.  A business is an amazing vehicle – unleash your creativity!

4. Embrace sustainability.  “Going green” is no longer an alternative.  It’s simply the evolution of how we do business and how we choose to relate to one another and our environment. Understanding sustainability is the single greatest investment that you can make towards your future success.

5. Enjoy yourself.  Have fun with the people you work with and the people you work for!  Take care of business, but don’t take yourself too seriously.

6. Your people are your greatest asset.  Find great people to work with, let them do their job, and find ways to make sure they feel happy and engaged.  These are the people that will work hard for you, generate ideas for you, go to bat for you...or not.  Recognize their efforts and the things you’d like to see.

7. Recognition is powerful.  It speaks to a basic human need that we all have to feel valued and appreciated.  Recognition can also empower people and create new opportunities for them.  It helps to encourage the changes we’d like to see.  It helps make organizations stronger.

8. Get involved in your community – a business is more than something to simply generate dollars.  It’s about putting your time and resources into enriching the community you’re located in.  This is how we will change the definition of value, as businesses become engines of community regeneration.

9. Choose simplicity over complexity – wherever possible, remove excess and make things easier for your clients. Design simple systems and simple policies.  “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” said Leonardo Da Vinci.

10. If you make a mistake, take responsibility & fix it quickly (without complaining).  It’s inevitable – at some point a mistake will happen.  When it does, accept responsibility and do your best to fix it, whatever the cost.  How you handle yourself when the chips are down is the most important.

11. Collaborate.  It’s hard to do everything alone, and not much fun. Find creative new ways to work with your staff, your suppliers, other organizations in your community, even your competitors.  We can accomplish a lot more together, than we can alone.

12. Don’t base your decisions simply on dollars.  In business school, we learn that everything comes down to money.  However in reality, the truly magical and wonderful things happen when we de-prioritize money and focus on other things such as beauty, happiness, integrity, community and having great experiences.

Of course there are more, and we will continue to tweak and experiment with our brand of doing business.  Now more than ever, people want to feel valued and appreciated, and we’ll continue to help you do that with beautifully crafted recognition awards.  What will the next 12 years hold?  We’ll be looking forward with an open mind and anticipation!

Are there any ideas that we’ve missed?  Let us know so that we can add it to our ingredients list!

Next week on April 7th, the inaugural F5 Expo takes over the Vancouver Convention Center for a full day of refreshing business strategies and amazing speakers.  It’s billed as a business conference on changing technologies in the online space such as social media, search marketing, cloud computing, and future trends.  It also features Malcolm Gladwell, the insightful author of cool books such as Outliers, Blink and The Tipping Point!

Eclipse Awards is proud to be the awards sponsor for the F5 Expo.  In part because we’ve always respected the work that event organizer TechLinz has done to develop the Vancouver’s technology community, but also because we’ve always embraced technology as a fantastic tool to help deliver awards and recognition to our clients in creative and efficient ways.

At Eclipse, finding creative uses for technology has always been a driving force: we’ve created photo-realistic computer generated images to improve the presentation of our crystal awards, we’ve implemented a paperless system to provide all artwork proofs electronically, we’ve developed a personalized email notification system that keeps our clients updated on their order status, and created a back-end system that allows us to manage multiple project timelines to ensure critical on-time delivery (which we guarantee). 

Our efforts were recognized in 2008 when DELL selected Eclipse Awards as one of Canada’s Top 10 Small Businesses that use technology to improve their customers’ experience.

In recent years, our investments in technology have freed up large amounts of company resources and time, and we now use these freed resources to pursue sustainability and greening initiatives that we wouldn’t normally be able to.  I’m now able to contribute close to 20% of my time to community building initiatives such as developing Strathcona as Vancouver’s first Green Zone.  Of course, many other resources are put back into developing new designs for green awards and crystal awards, while also finding ways to improve our client’s experience.

The goal of the F5 Expo is to help companies embrace emerging technologies and create refreshing new ways to look at business and how they create value.  At Eclipse, we’re not a tech company, but we’ve used technology to elevate our performance and customer experience, while also reducing our environmental footprint and enabling us to pursue our social mission.

How will you find creative ways to use emerging technologies?  Come to the F5 Expo and expose yourself to new thoughts, new people and new ideas!

Post a comment on this blog and we’ll provide you with a free tradeshow pass to the F5 Expo next week.  * Bonus * the first 3 posts will also get a free Slim Pass valued at $79.

Last week, the 2010 Winter Olympics arrived in Vancouver after years of anticipation, excitement and curiosity. The games have already proven to be an exciting spectacle and will surely be remembered forever in our city, but what do they mean for local businesses?

From a business perspective, the experience has been an interesting combination of highs and lows. When we first learned that Vancouver was to host the Olympics, it seemed as though the future horizon was lined with low hanging gold and silver. The games would be in our laps and none of us would be able to avoid the opportunities they presented. One of the world’s most prestigious recognition awards events was going to be held here celebrating excellence– how could we not be a part of it?

Alas, it didn’t turn out quite that way….the bidding process was foreign and unclear. Could we really bid? On what?  If so, how? And what was this thing called “sustainability” that they kept referring to in their bid requests? In truth, I didn’t understand the term sustainability at that time, but I realized that we would have to learn about it if we were going to earn any Olympic contracts. Little did I know that sustainability would eventually become the most defining principle of our company’s operations and philosophy.

In fact, I’ve come to believe that understanding sustainability is the single greatest investment that a business can make towards its future success.

So when people ask if the 2010 Olympics will be the “greenest games ever”, I tend to agree. Sure, there is tremendous room for improvements and there will be greener games in the future, but VANOC has done a great job of raising the sustainability bar. I believe that this will be their legacy – all of the people and organizations that they inspired and guided towards learning about sustainability. They have helped propel an army of small businesses into being green leaders and in part, that is why Vancouver is at the leading edge of sustainability and green business.

From a purely financial perspective though, things haven’t been quite as bright. I don’t know any business that have profited directly from the games. We pursued award contracts and leads for nearly 3 years before finally resigning ourselves to spectators a couple of years ago. As a small business located in Vancouver’s Dowtown Eastside and committed to sustainability and our community – qualities supposedly coveted by VANOC – it was a little hard to accept and believe, but we moved on to other exciting projects making awards for the COP15 Copenhagen Conference and developing LEED Plaques (pictured here) for the Canadian Green Building Council.

Recently, we were lucky enough to do use some of our newly designed Canopy Eco-Awards (see top and bottom images) to recognize VANOC’s Champions of Sustainability. We’ve also been providing some of our LEED Plaques to some of the green Olympic Venues such as the Richmond Olympic Oval. I think the work we’ve done in previous years around sustainability has allowed us to create these green awards that didn’t exist before, and so using them to recognize VANOC and the Olympics is kind of fitting.

Did the Winter Olympics bring us a financial windfall of opportunity? I really don't think so.

Did they help set the stage for a new generation of green businesses to emerge to the forefront of the world’s stage? I really think that they did.

In the bigger picture, which do you think is more valuable?

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Last week, Eclipse Awards was proud to play a small role in the United Nations historic COP15 Climate Change conference in Copenhagen.  Though we have worked directly with the UN before on earlier climate change conferences, this time we worked with Environmental Defence to help them recognize acts of climate leadership in Canada.

For this event, we created 10 of our Emerald Tower Awards which are made from 100% post consumer used recycled glass.  We even used non-toxic wax as the color fill to help make these as sustainable as possible.

These climate change awards helped recognize the following Canadian projects:

Greenest City Action Plan – City of Vancouver
Reaching Out to Global Energy Cities – City of Calgary
Early Initiatives to Reduce Carbon Footprint – City of Edmonton
Tower Renewal and Transit City – City of Toronto
Climat : Plan de Transport – Ville de Montreal
Economy Wide Carbon Pricing – Province of British Columbia
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Initiatives – Province of Manitoba
Green Energy Champion – Province of Ontario
Climat : Engagement Constant – Province du Quebec
Absolute Electricity Emissions Cap – Province of Nova Scotia

Overall though, Canada took a lot of well-deserved heat in Copenhagen, even winning the embarrassing Colossal Fossil Award for our regressive approach to climate change.  The attention that this focused on Canada once again reminds us of the power of recognition awards to change behaviours and opinions.  Awards can be used effectively as both a carrot or a stick.

Could Canada and other countries be doing more to avoid climate change?  Of course, there is still huge progress to be made.  

However as Rick Smith, executive director for Environmental Defence said “It’s important to recognize leadership when it happens” and we couldn’t agree more.  We have to recognize and celebrate leadership wherever it’s emerging.  These are the seeds that we need to nurture so that their energies and influence can be shared, spread, and celebrated!

The success of any movement - environmental, social or otherwise -requires that we recognize the leaders of those movements.  We need to celebrate the behaviors and visions that we want to see repeated throughout our organizations, our communities and our world. 

By recognizing leadership, we not only visibly encourage and endorse it, we also empower it to move forward.  Recognition awards can provide a strong vote of confidence and help emerging leaders step into their roles.

Climate change discussions aren’t just about reducing emissions – they represent a battle to redefine humanity.  As the United Nations event now fades into history, the world is left to wonder what will happen next.  Some solutions will be found at the government levels, however true changes will come from people working at the community and municipal level.  They will come from inspired and motivated people working at your organization.

We need to work at all levels to ensure that positive change will happen.  At Eclipse Awards, our role is to help you recognize leadership and excellence in a way that encourages it and nurtures is.

How do you recognize leadership and how will you recognize these emerging leaders of tomorrow?

At Eclipse Awards, we create value through a genuine commitment to quality workmanship and quality materials.  As your recognition partner, we will ensure that your awards are made with care and attention to detail.  The craftsmanship that goes into your awards helps emphasize your message of recognition.

However, what you may not realize is that our commitment to the environment is equally important - we also consider the resources that go into them, the materials that are used and unused, how excess materials are reused and recycled, and how we can make your awards even more beautiful by using less. 

As part of our quest for zero waste, how can we create the most value for your recognition awards while using the least amount of resources, and without sacrificing quality or service?

Most people have heard of the 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  We’ve explored these as they relate to our business and continue to look for new opportunities to expand on them.  However, we’ve come to realize that there are some other R’s that we feel are also really important.

Rethink & Redesign:  we’ve reviewed virtually every product, process, and system and redesigned it for improved efficiency.  Don’t just look at how to do something more efficiently, but also why are we even doing something at all?  
Example:  we used to make and ship lots of sample awards which consumes a lot resources unnecessarily.  So instead we invested in developing photorealistic images of our products, so that you can see 360 degree views of our awards.  Clients really appreciate this service and physical sample requests have dropped by 90%.

Realize:  our planet’s resources are finite and limited.  The actions of virtually every company consume and convert these resources into other materials, some that are used and valued, and others that are unused or unvalued.  So every time you purchase from a company, ask them what they are doing in terms of minimizing their consumption of resources. 
Example:  as part of this growing awareness, we’re developing and expanding a new line of green awards that are truly beautiful and made from reclaimed wood, glass and aluminum.  Stay tuned for more details to follow... 

Redistribute:  in many cases, waste is simply misplaced resources.  Though we may not be able to use it, there is probably another entity that can.  We've developed relationships with other companies to collaborate and find productive uses for misplaced resources.
Example:  we’ve partnered with The Urban Source and several children’s art programs, and every month we provide them with many of our unused presentation boxes.  We’ve also looked at ways of using other “used” materials in new ways.  One that we’re particularly excited about is etching glass water bottles to be reused as drinking bottles.  This also helps avoid using more plastic bottles.

As our landfills near capacity and as our oceans fill with plastics, businesses will need to evolve to understand and limit the waste they produce, while still creating real value for their clients.  Rest assured knowing that we will be doing our best to redesign and rethink our processes to deliver the highest value to you and your recognition awards program, while also minimizing our environmental impact and contributing to our community.

If you’re interested in learning more about what some companies are doing to minimize their waste, join us this evening for:

“Trash Talk: Collaborations in Business Garbage and Recycling” an event hosted by LoCo BC.

I will be making a short presentation on our experiences at Eclipse Awards and our efforts to create a materials exchange network in the Strathcona Green Zone.

We are all learning as we go and sharing our experiences is how we will move forward together.  What changes have you made to reduce the environmental impacts of your organization?

As a recognition awards company, we’re usually focused on creating beautiful recognition awards for other people (our clients) to recognize each other with.  Last Friday though, we held our first annual open house and green roof party and spent the day celebrating and recognizing many of the people that we work with, including many of our own clients.  What a day it turned out to be!  The picture above shows our green roof with the sun coming out to receive our guests.

We met with dozens of our clients over the course of the day, many whom we’ve worked with for years, but had only known through email and by phone.  There is definitely something special about meeting face to face, and also sharing the space where all of our work is done.   We've worked with one of our clients, Silverbirch Hotels, for close to 8 years and finally had a chance to meet in person and show them where their awards are designed and how they are actually made.  This really added some depth to our relationship as well as a new understanding that there are good people here taking care of things for them.

Though we’ve been making crystal awards for over 10 years now, this was our first open house and first chance to share our newly renovated green building.  We’ve worked for over 2 years to create an inspiring and healthy work space with natural light and a living green roof.  We believe that if our team is happy, then the awards we create will reflect that, and the final award recipients will be able to feel and appreciate it.

The event was also a great occasion to launch some of new “Living Edge” green awards (pictured above) that are made from reclaimed wood, glass and aluminum.  Also on display were our Inukshuks made from reclaimed crystal, and both our Emerald recycled glass awards and Cobalt recycled glass awards that are made from 100% post consumer used glass.  As more and more organizations begin to understand the value of going green, these awards will help underline their sustainability values and commitments.  Stay tuned as we will formally be adding these green awards to our product line in the coming weeks!

A party is definitely more fun with party favors!  So we gave away some fun gifts to those who were able to visit us.  We made dozens of etched green glass holders (above) that were filled with tiny sedum cuttings from our green roof, so that people could take these home and spread the little plants to other places.  We also made up dozens of etched glass drinking bottles that were made from recycled juice bottles.  People really loved the personalized glass bottles and so we’ll be adding these to our line of green gifts and awards soon, which will also help reduce the amount of plastics that people use.

As the day turned into night, we welcomed another wave of friends and supporters for an evening of music, laughter, and conversation.  A healthy number of world changing folks from the recent Social Ventures Institute and Web of Change events helped keep things going.  There was a great energy throughout the building as new connections were made and people felt the positive energy we had put into the event.  The fact that we’re doing all of this in one of Vancouver’s most challenged neighbourhoods, makes it even more satisfying for us!

Putting on an event that spans over 16 hours is not an easy task.  Our team, as well as our friends and families, worked hard in the weeks leading up to the event, by painting our building, cleaning up, reorganizing, and remaining flexible.  We also worked closely with Saul Good Gift Co. who specializes in sustainable gift baskets and shares our office space.  The abundance of healthy and delicious food was graciously provided by oneplanet catering, another progressive local company.  Lotusland Vineyards was on hand with generous samples of their organic, small batch wines.  Guests were kept warm by SaltSpring Coffee’s organic, fair trade blends.

This open house was really rewarding and helped our clients get a better understanding of not only what we do, but how we do it, and why we do it.  Recognition is a powerful tool!  It was definitely a day of positive collaboration between local businesses and something that we’re already looking forward to doing again!

Night falls on the party at Eclipse Awards.

Wow, we just took little break to visit the first green roof we built, and it was amazing how much it had grown in since our last visit two weeks ago.  We completed our Heatley Green Roof about a year and a half ago, ironically just as we were moving out of the same building.  Luckily though, we didn’t move far, we’re still on the same block, and the roof is really cared for well by our friends there at Frogfile (check them out if you're looking for green office supplies).

What amazed us most was how quickly the tiny sedums had exploded with flowers, and how the whole colorful roof mass was covered with bees thrumbling from plant to plant.  It was bustling with life before we arrived there, and I’m sure it is still bustling now, long after we’ve left.  You can find the latest images here, on our Eclipse Awards Facebook fanpage.

Sitting in the sunlight, smelling the honeysuckle, and watching this little oasis of color and life, we were overcome with a sense of happiness and pride.  We built this green roof!  As a company, and as a group of people, we chose to put our resources and time to build this living engine that works around the clock to save energy and protect the roof, support local biodiversity, cool the area, grow vegetables, look beautiful, and make people happy!  Not to mention the value it adds to Eclipse Awards in terms of regenerative marketing and how we measure our worth in terms of contributing to our community.  In our society today, how do we determine the "value" that a business provides to a community, it at all?

Of course we didn’t build the living systems, but we did create a nice place for them to gain a foothold in a sea of concrete and pavement.  When you put this against the backdrop of the challenging neighbourhood we’re in, it really adds a sense of accomplishment.  Not only is Eclipse Awards creating beautiful crystal awards, we’re also creating environmental and social value within our community.  

We can hardly wait to see how this green roof will continue to grow and evolve, through season after season, year after year.  I’m sure it will be wonderful process to follow and learn from.  We will of course, share what we learn.

In the meantime though, we’ve got our hands full with our newest green roof that we’re creating on the building Eclipse Awards is currently in.

Now there are 2 green roofs on this block of Strathcona in Vancouver…how many more will come?

Last week, the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of BC announced Eclipse Awards as “the 2009 Official Awards Sponsor to the PGA of BC”.  Click here for the official press release from the PGA.

This is exciting because they selected Eclipse Awards for our commitment to sustainability as much as for our commitment to quality, service, design and beautiful crystal awards.  So this summer we will be working closely with organizations planning golf tournaments and event, supplying them with crystal golf awards, golf trophies, and a new line of green golf awards and golf gifts that we’re currently developing.

At Eclipse, sustainability is something that we try to infuse into everything that we do, so that we use fewer resources, create less waste, and make our people happy so that they create beautiful awards.  However, it’s never a reason to provide subpar service or less value.   I can’t say that we’ve found solutions for all of the challenges we face, but I assure you that we’re working on them as you read this.

Our partnership with the PGA of BC, an organization that promotes excellence, simply reinforces our commitment to excellence and to sustainability.  Our commitment to green principles adds value to the services and products that we supply.   So thank you to the PGA of BC and hello to the world of golf trophies and green golf awards.  Here are the top 3 reasons we’re looking forward to the year ahead:

1. Collaboration.  Our partnership with the PGA of BC reinforces the idea of collaboration and working together for mutual benefit, something that we’re working towards here in the Strathcona green zone.

2. The potential to affect a new industry through a focus on design and sustainability.  At this time of writing this, a google search for “green golf awards” brings back a total of 8 results, and virtually all of them refer to the same online article.  So there is definitely room to explore and develop new kinds green golf awards and trophies for our clients

3. Exposure to new markets.  Being selected as the PGA’s “Official Awards Sponsor” exposes us to a whole new group of clients and organizations that may not have heard about Eclipse Awards before, so it’s an opportunity to present our brand of excellence and integrity

Should you require any assistance in arranging crystal golf trophies or green golf awards for your event, we look forward to the opportunity to work with you.

As a boy, I remember going to the circus and watching in amazement as an acrobat spun plates on sticks.  He would balance a plate on a stick, and then wiggle the stick until suddenly, magically…it would spin on its own.  One by one, he went down the line until there were over a dozen plates spinning on sticks.  Every so often he would run back to a plate that was slowing down and wiggle the stick until the plate was spinning quickly again.  Eventually though, there were too many plates to keep going and one by one, they started to crash down.

Years later, I came to realize how similar this is to running a business, or building community, or even life in general.  Every project or initiative that we begin takes some planning and energy to get it up and running.  We have to work, sometimes pretty hard, until that project is spinning nicely and humming along.   Then once it’s going, we can sometimes  leave it for a little bit and coast along ...but not forever.  Invariably, wobbles and problems begin to appear – small at first, but usually getting bigger until we decide to commit more resources to “wiggling the stick” again to make that plate spin nicely.  If we leave it unattended for too long, it will eventually come crashing to the ground (or fade into obscurity).  Crashing plates is one thing, but when we're talking about business responsibilities or relationships, it's definitely another.

As a business, we have to decide which plates we’re going to spin and how much energy we can put into each one at any given time.  Too much energy in one place and other things will start to wobble.  Spinning too many plates and we’re frantically running around trying to keep them all going.  After 10 years, we’ve got a pretty good idea how many plates we can keep going, we've developed a world class team that keeps many things aloft.  Eclipse clients, staff and family always get the most attention...if those plates are not spinning at top speed, trouble is on the horizon.  Community building, technology, social media, designing, learning new things and having fun...those are all a close second.   Then sometimes we just need to buckle down and make sure that everything is spinning nicely so that we can rest for a bit and take a break from everything.

How many plates are you spinning in your life or business or family?  Are you putting in the right amount of energy into each one?  Do you have too many plates on the go?  Or can you “wiggle some more sticks” and contribute more to your community, family, or work?  These are ongoing questions, but there is something deeply satisfying when all the plates are spinning harmoniously and we can step back and appreciate the results of our energy.  Then life taps us on the shoulder and tells us it's time to jump back in the game, there's a plate that's getting wobbly...

Wow, what an amazing few weeks!  On April 2nd, we helped to host “Sustainability 2.0 – the Evolution of Green” with the Strathcona Business Improvement Association.  The event created an atmosphere of positive energy and hopefully created a new kind of awareness that encourages people to collaborate and work together in building community.  It's not enough to have solidarity amongst the business, artists, and low income communities....we need a solidarity and shared vision across these groups, as a whole community.

Both Eclipse Awards and I have put a lot of energy into moving sustainability forward over the past several years.  This commitment is based on the belief that understanding sustainability as it relates to your organization is the single greatest investment that you can make towards your future success.  Last year, when we planned Sustainability 1.0 there were virtually no results on a google search for sustainability 2.0, which is why we secured the name then.  A recent search now shows over 13,000 results for sustainability 2.0 which just goes to show how people’s thinking has evolved over the past year.  We’re entering new areas of sustainability where things such as recycling and conserving energy are simply the first steps in creating a green company.  Now sustainability involves exploring collaboration and sharing resources to become more green.

In our experience, a company can only go so far on its own…once you’ve implemented recycling programs, minimized your energy consumption, and streamlined your operations, you kind of reach a limit in terms of what you can accomplish in sustainability.  To reach the next level, companies need to start collaborating with one another in order to obtain services and opportunities that they can’t on their own.  For example, one company alone has limited options to dispose of its waste, however if that company is collaborating with other companies in a materials exchange network it may be able to trade its waste for reuse, or freely obtain another companies unused resources instead of buying them.  So when we talk about sustainability, it’s important to think of individual companies, but it’s even more important to think about how these companies work together and the relationships between them.  Ultimately, sustainability boils down to community and culture…what are the things we celebrate, value and support?

This is the idea behind the Strathcona Green Zone, where we hope to create a community that celebrates sustainable thinking, diversity and the arts.  We want to be known as a progressive and dynamic place to do business, not as Canada’s “poorest postal code”.  Local paper Business in Vancouver covered the Strathcona Green Zone Initiative and the Sustainability 2.0 expo in this recent article.

So to help us communicate this message to the Strathcona community, we were lucky enough to secure Majora Carter as the keynote speaker at Sustainability 2.0.  Majora is considered by many as one of New York’s top environmental and social activists and if you haven’t seen her impassioned TED talk, you can view it here.  She gained a lot of recognition for her work with Sustainable South Bronx and "greening the ghetto" by training people with skills to build green roofs, care for trees, and create green spaces.  Majora is a beautiful soul who shares her wisdom and experience in an open and joyful way, and I was lucky enough to spend part of the day with her before her talk.  

For me, the highlight of the day was doing a walking tour of Strathcona with Majora Carter and Gregor Robertson, the mayor of Vancouver.  Gregor is also an amazing person with a deep understanding of sustainability, so to have them both visit the area and then stop by our green roof, was truly an inspiring and rewarding experience.  It also shows what can be accomplished by setting an audacious goal, and then working to make it a reality.

Eclipse Awards is a small company with big aspirations.  We not only make crystal awards to recognize people and make them happy, we also want to create happiness within our community and have worked to incorporate this in our core mission.  
Touring Strathcona and Eclipse Awards with Majora and Gregor was a really special occasion and one that I hope will help set a new trajectory for our future and the future of this neighbourhood.  Yet it’s simply one more step in our efforts to show how small businesses can have positive and lasting effects within their communities by inspiring people, sharing knowledge and building beautiful things.

At Eclipse Awards we’re working on a new style of marketing that we’re calling Regenerative Marketing. It’s one that we hope will ultimately turn small businesses into engines of community revitalization and richness, rather than beasts of consumption.    At Eclipse, we take our marketing budget and instead of pursuing traditional direct mail campaigns, we put these funds towards real, substantial projects that contribute value to either the environment or our community, or ideally both.  Then we tell those stories through word of mouth and social media such as twitter and facebook.  This focus has allowed us to build some true community assets, while also conserving many of the resources normally associated with direct mail. We call this Regenerative Marketing in the sense that it helps regenerate our community and environment, while also helping to renew peoples’ confidence in businesses as a positive force in society.

If you’ve used or followed Eclipse Awards, know that we take great pride in crystal awards, green awards, and the philosophy of recognition.  You probably also know that we place tremendous value on the quality of our work, our reliability and integrity, the happiness of our staff, and our commitment to sustainability and our community.

What you might not have noticed immediately though is how we market our awards and company.  You will definitely see us online and possibly in some magazines.  Word of mouth referrals, testimonials and notable clients have also contributed to our growth.  What you won’t see much of though, are printed materials and mailouts.  In part, this stems from our commitment to minimize our footprint by limiting our consumption of materials, or avoiding them altogether.  In our experience, the majority of these promo materials typically end up in the landfill, fewer are recycled, and even fewer result in any sort of a sale of awards.  We also spent several years perfecting a photorealistic way of generating our award images by computer.  In fact, DELL recognized us as one of Canada’s top 10 Most Innovative Small Businesses for this as it allowed us to virtually eliminate the need to create and ship samples.  We’ve also invested heavily in technology to provide better, more efficient customer service, and we’ve used these freed resources to pursue more sustainability initiatives.

By reallocating our traditional marketing budget, Eclipse Awards has been able to:

• build 2 green roofs with vegetable gardens
• create a healthy and inspiring workplace for our staff
• support the St. James Music Academy that teaches at-risk youth how to play musical instruments (love this project!)
• fund the Eclipse Award for Environmental Leadership scholarship at Kwantlen University
• helped develop and hold two small business expos on sustainability
• launch a community sustainability library providing free resources to people with shared interests
• host a mason bee “apartment” on our building to help with local biodiversity
• support and use green power
• Help reinvent Strathcona as Vancouver’s green zone of sustainable community
• provide free bikes and an onsite shower for our staff to use
• provide incentives for our staff to bike or walk to work
• and a whole range of other fun  projects that we’ll describe in this blog

These are lasting projects and assets that will benefit our community for years to come.  In the past, we’ve pursued traditional marketing campaigns which had questionable value event 2 weeks later.  How many flyer campaigns from last month can you recall?

Today’s consumers are intelligent and thoughtful...they can separate the real from the superficial and they yearn for integrity and values in a service market that’s become devoid of service.  Our clients also love the fact that by using Eclipse Awards, they’ll not only get world class service and personalized awards, they’re also empowering us to make our community a better place.    
Admittedly, we are in new territory and learning as we go.  The important thing is our fundamentals are in place - quality, service, reliability and convenience – so it gives us some freedom to explore new ways of doing things.  Now, if ever, is a time to be bold and creative!

Will it work?  Only time will tell.  A lot depends on our ability to get these messages out through non-traditional channels and if clients will continue to value the types of sustainable, community projects that we pursue.  In my mind though, this is the new generation of marketing – substantial, real and positive, presented in a way that respects people’s intelligence.  It’s working for our company, so maybe it will work for yours.  Can you imagine a near future in which small businesses support meaningful projects instead of mindless, superficial marketing messages and become successful because of it?  Imagine the next generation of businesses that will build community gardens, green roofs, renewable energy projects, or that will support community arts, or education, or caring for our elders.  What kind of a world would it be if love and compassion were rewarded in business?

We’d love to hear your thoughts on regenerative marketing.  Can it work?  Are you doing something similar?  Are there any things you’d like to see us try?  Let us know because the future is what we all decide to make it.

As a client of Eclipse Awards, you probably know that we are committed to excellence, reliability and service.  What you might not be aware of is that we are also committed to sustainability and that I commit roughly 20% of my time to community building in Strathcona and the Downtown Eastside where our office is located.  

What does this mean exactly?  It means that we make great efforts to reduce our environmental footprint by reducing our energy consumption and committing to green power on the way to becoming the world's first carbon neutral awards company, we’ve built 2 green roofs and invested in creating a healthy and inspiring workplace for our staff, we’re exploring new ways to create beauty and value out of reclaimed materials, and we are helping to build a community in Strathcona that celebrates sustainable thinking, the arts and diversity.

I currently serve as vice-chair of the Strathcona Business Improvement Association and chair of its sustainability committee.  The committee is based on the idea that understanding sustainability is the single greatest investment that a business or organization can make towards its future success.  The Sustainability Committee's mission statement is:

to educate members about the business case for environmental and social sustainability;  provide them with the tools and resources to implement sustainability as it relates to their organization;  and develop the broader community that will both support and attract green businesses.

We have been working towards holding Vancouver’s second small business expo called Sustainability 2.0 – the Evolution of Green which takes place this April 2nd at ChapelArts.

The event will feature a panel of green business people exploring the leading edge of sustainable thought in business…why are companies doing it?  Are they still doing it in this current economy?  How has it helped strengthen their businesses, if at all?  The panel will feature Saul Brown from Saul Good Gifts, Danielle Carrie from Frogfile, Peter Joe from Sunrise Soya, Clay Braziler from Eco-Industrial Solutions, and me, Toby Barazzuol from Eclipse Awards.  We hope to explore the idea of collaboration and how businesses can work together to achieve the next level of sustainability.  

There is only so much that a single business can do on its own in terms of greening, so sustainability ultimately boils down to community and culture and working together through collaboration.  What kinds of things do we value, prioritize and celebrate as a community?

Sustainability 2.0 will also feature Majora Carter who has done amazing work around “greening the ghetto” as director of Sustainable South Bronx.  She is considered by some to be New York’s most influential environmental and social activist.
To learn more about Majora, here is a quick 30 second clip or her more in-depth TED talk on "greening the ghetto".
Majora has also received a McArthur Genius Grant as well as funding from the Clinton Global Initiative.

This Thursday she will be doing a walking tour of Strathcona, possibly joined by Vancouver’s Mayor Gregor Robertson.  The tour will end at ChapelArts in time to start Sustainability 2.0.

All in all, we hope that this will be a defining event around sustainability and community in the Downtown Eastside.  It’s free to attend and we hope that you do, you can preregister here.

Strathcona receives a lot of negative press which is unfortunate as there are a lot of positive things going on here.  Our vision is to build on the positive, and focus our resources on developing the diverse, creative and inclusive community that we’d like to see.

At Eclipse Awards, we are committed to creating beautiful awards and delivering them on time.  We are also committed to developing a strong community and believe that small businesses can ultimately become the engines that heal the environment, support arts and culture, and build stronger, healthier communities.  So when you choose to partner with Eclipse Awards, you’re not only getting world class service and awards, you’re also helping to make the world a better place.

Last week was the biggest event in the world of awards and recognition, the 2009 ARA Show in Las Vegas.  Last year, our whole company went and had a great time, however this year I went with our resident recognition guru Nelson Borges and Saul Brown, owner of Saul Good Gifts.

I’ve always found the show interesting because it brings together all of the biggest companies and personalities, showcases their latest awards and designs, and gives us a chance to listen and share ideas.  About 4 years ago, following the launch of our new website for crystal awards, Eclipse emerged as a leader in the awards and recognition industry.  Suddenly, we were no longer following the trends, we were setting them.  Now when we visit the show, we try to guide the manufacturers in the direction we believe will benefit our clients.  Every day we deal directly with dozens of companies of different sizes across North America and we hear what they want in terms of personalized recognition awards, crystal awards and green awards.

Our strength at Eclipse Awards has always been our ability to listen, understand, and then deliver.  So what have I learned from attending 7 of the last 10 ARA Shows? Here are the 6 things everyone should know about recognition awards:

1.    Recognition is a powerful instrument.  Everyone wants to be appreciated for their work or contribution…it’s a common emotion and part of being human.  When done properly, a recognition award has the power to inspire, to motivate, to enable and empower, and to open new doors while also building confidence and good feelings.  These incredible intangibles are often underappreciated, yet they can add real depth and value to your organization.  Recognition done poorly however, can actually create the opposite of the intended effect.

2.     Make it personal.  Personalizing a recognition award with a name and a thoughtful message changes it from something generic into something that is truly unique and highly valued by the recipient.

3.    Simple is beautiful, elegant and timeless.  That award with the flashing LEDs might look great during the event, but how will it look in 3 months or 3 years?  When choosing a recognition award, aim for something personalized, timeless and classy that will stand the test of time.  We want people to be proudly presenting our awards 10 years from now.

4.    Never underestimate quality and craftsmanship.  The gift or award that you select to recognize someone symbolizes your message to them.  If the awards you’ve chosen are poorly made or lack quality, you’ve likely undermined your message and possibly even insulted the recipient which is not what you set out to do.  On the other hand, if the award is thoughtful and well made, you’ve just reinforced your message of appreciation in a subtle yet powerful way.  Isn’t this what you set out to do in the first place?

5.    The only true currency is the quality and depth of our relationships with one another.  In the end, we’re all people trying to get along and be happy.  Nothing will ever replace a heartfelt thank you with eye contact or an appreciative hug.  However, sometimes we need to go out of our way to make people feel special and give them something beautiful that symbolizes how others feel about them.  We all know how amazing and empowering it can be when we’re made to feel special, and a properly done recognition award can help create those lasting feelings.

6.    Timing is everything.  It’s best to recognize positive behavior as quickly as you can.  Feelings tend to diminish over time, so the strongest reinforcements are possible right after the behavior you want to reward occurs.   On a more practical level, you need you're awards delivered to you on time.  Your awards aren't worth much if they arrive late for your event.  Think of the Oscars arriving one day late...that's why we guarantee on time delivery.

So that’s a quick summary of what I’ve learned in the past 10 years.  Recognition isn’t necessarily about the latest and greatest, it’s about sincerity, consistency and quality.  It’s about taking the time to make someone feel special in a lasting and positive way.  
In these challenging times, are there people that you’d like to recognize for their contributions and loyalty?  Make sure they know how much you appreciate their efforts and sacrifices on your behalf because we are all stronger together than we are apart.

As most of you know, Eclipse Awards is about more than crystal awards and recognition...we also put a great value on sustainability and our community.  In fact, I usually contribute about 20% of my time towards building a stronger, happier and healthier community in Strathcona where Eclipse is located.  One of the main projects I've been focussed on over the past few years involves working to create a Green Zone or sustainable business community through the Strathcona Business Improvement Association (SBIA).

The idea is based on the assumption that understanding sustainability is the single greatest investment that a business can make towards its future success.

However, there also comes a point where a business has gone as green as it can on it's own...there are limits to what you can do once you've minimized your footprint and gone carbon neutral.  So eventually businesses need to look at ways to collaborate with one another and share resources in order to reach the next level of sustainability.

Which leads us back to the focus on community.  We want to develop a community that not only supports, but celebrates sustainable thinking, green businesses and the arts.  Creating things like a materials exchange network, a zero emissions courier to faciiltate the movement of goods, a complementary currency to spur the local economy, and urban gardens to grow food are all ways of realizing a green business community where collaboration is favored over competition.

Our Green Zone movement recieved a big boost today as Canada's federal government, through the Western Economic Diversification Fund, the City of Vancouver and other groups, committed $60,000 to help the SBIA develop it's mission to "educate members about the business case for environmental and social sustainability;  provide them with the tools and resources sustainability as it relates to their organization; and develop the broader community that will both support and attract green businesses".

Our world is changing quickly, and in many ways this gives us the opportunity to find newer and healthier ways of doing business, newer and healthier ways of treating each other and our planet.

Thank you Western Economic Diversification Canada for believing in and funding our vision of a stronger and healthier community based on sustainability.

Here is a link to a similar article from New York announcing the event, though I'm not sure what this one says as it's in Chinese :)

Wow, this one made it all the way into the China News!

Snowed in and working alone at Eclipse Awards over the past few weeks has given me time for some deep thought.  Not only did we end 2008, we also ended our first decade in business.  Ten years in business can provide you with insights into a lot of different things, if you’re open to seeing them.  Over that time, our awards have brought happiness to a lot of people and I’m proud of the trust that we’ve built with all of our clients by delivering on our promises, consistently.  I’m proud of the team that we have at Eclipse Awards, not only for their skills, but because of the way they conduct themselves as people. I’m also really pleased at how we’ve been able to embrace sustainability and explore what that means as a business in the real world.

Five years ago we moved from Vancouver's funky Yaletown to Strathcona in the Downtown Eastside, considered by many to be one of the most challenged neighbourhoods in North America.  This is definitely a community in transition and one of our goals was to make a positive and substantial contribution towards building a healthy and balanced community .  Though there is still much to do, I’m really happy with where we’re at and the direction we’re going.  Some 2008 milestones were:

• Completing our first green roof at 121 Heatley.  2400 square feet of green goodness and planter boxes.
• Finishing the green renovations at our new office at 614 Alexander.  More on that later.
• donating awards to the St. James Music Academy and over 40 inner city music students
• Completing the first phase of our 2nd green roof at 614 Alexander
• Making the top 10 of Canada’s Small Business Excellence Awards for using technology
• Working in an inspiring space with a team of skilled and dedicated people
• Designing and creating Canada’s LEED plaques out of reclaimed glass and wood
• Developing our partnership with Saul Good Gifts and  Tradeworks in creating sustainable awards and gifts
• and of course, creating the awards that helped bring happiness and recognition to thousands of people!

2009 promises to be interesting, with recognition becoming even more vital to companies looking to retain their staff.  After all, is anything more important to an organization than its people?  We will continue to focus on crystal awards while also developing more green awards made out of other sustainable materials.  We’ll put more resources into communicating with our clients, while always maintaining our commitment to excellent quality and service.  We enjoy setting the pace in the awards and recognition industry and will continue to explore new and beautiful ways to help you recognize and appreciate the people in your lives.  We hope you’ll continue to check back in as we learn to weave excellence with sustainability, business with community, and art with recognition.

The last few weeks have been pretty exciting as we've worked to develop some cool new green awards.  Crystal awards remain elegant and timeless, yet we see a strong and growing demand for green awards made out of sustainable materials.  Our team has been busy brainstorming and designing new awards with sustainability in mind, and so we're pleased to launch a new line of beautiful FSC cedar frames.

I think frames look beautiful and yet it's what you can't see that I find equally as beautiful. I'm really proud of the work and teamwork that went into making these, especially when you consider the climate smart certificates as well.

The frames are designed to use minimal materials and are made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cedar.  This means that the wood was grown and harvested in an environmentally sustainable and verifiable way.  You can even check on the chain of custody by looking up a certification code that's unique to each batch of wood. The frames are made and assembled by Tradeworks which is a training society aimed at providing skills training and work opportunities for women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.  So there are strong social and community ties as well.

The climate smart certificates are something we earned this summer.  They were presented by Ecotrust Canada to verify that Eclipse Awards has completed a comprehensive study and inventory of our environmental footprint and carbon emissions.  It took over a month to gather the data, complete the calculations, and design a reduction plan looking forward 5 years.  Currently, our annual carbon footprint is 32 tonnes.  Not great, but not too bad and we'll be purchasing carbon offsets from Offsetters in the next few weeks so that we can finally become Carbon Neutral.

So at first glance, it simply looks like a nice frame and certificate.  However, it's taken us a few years to get to the point where we could create these pieces.  It's not a matter of simply throwing together some pieces of wood and paper then calling it a green award.  It's about understanding the elegance of good design and the conservation of resources, it's about understanding the social side of community and how business can contribute to building capacity, it's about understanding our evnironmental footprint and taking steps to reduce it, it's about understanding the changing nature of our world and what clients are looking for....it's really about understanding sustainability.

I hope that when people consider our awards, they will not only see beautiful objects, but they will understand the thought and consideration that went into making them.  There's a lot happening beneath the surface at Eclipse Awards and we will continue to use our experience and perspective to develop new green awards that are beautiful on many different levels.

Special thanks to Nelson who has worked hard to make these a reality, to Saul who has helped facilitate some of these new relationships, to the ladies at Tradeworks for their efforts, and to Jim for making it all look good!

Stay tuned as we continue to launch new green awards over the coming months!

Well, after several months of designing and planning, we finally completed the second portion of our new green roof at Eclipse Awards.  This roof was designed more as a green amenity space for staff that will be focussed on growing food.  Once it's finished, the roof will be ringed by planter boxes that will provide everyone here with a small gardening plot.  The "green island" in the center includes Irises, Lemon Thyme, and woodland strawberries.  I love looking through the skylights and seeing the grass and sky.

Crystal awards and green roofs may seem like an unusual combination.  Yet every organization needs to look at creative ways to reduce their environmental footprint while also creating happy and healthy work spaces.  Green roofs are an amazing way to accomplish both.  In fact, the other green roof that we completed earlier this year has alread saved a lot in terms of both heating and cooling, while also providing space for growing vegetables and additional green space for insects and birds.

We worked closely with Erika Richmond Green Roof Design to create both of these beautiful green spaces.  I can't recommend her enough if you're considering a project like this.  Thanks Erika!

Earlier on this year, Eclipse Awards was selected by Dell as one of Canada's top ten most innovative small businesses.  This is an award that we take great pride in as we've made some bold investments in technology in order to improve our customers' experience, elevate our performance and reduce our environmental footprint.

When Dell invited me to speak as part of their Future of Computing tour, I was a little nervous as I'd never done a presentation on technology before.  However, I was interested in the green element they were promoting at the event, and curious about the prospect of bringing green ideas to a room full of IT professionals. 

Aside from the technical side of things, my basic message was this:  invest creatively in technology to improve the customers' experience, while also improving efficiency and freeing up company resources.  These freed resources can then be used to pursue sustainability initiatives that ways that were not possible before.  These initiatives can then help reduce your environmental footprint, advance your social mission, and strengthen your company by differentiating it.  In our case, it allows me to put close to 20% of my time towards community building and sustainability projects in Strathcona. 

Overall, it seems as though these ideas were well well received, which is all I really hoped for.  There is more to our company that crystal awards.  Technology does have a role to play in moving sustainability forward - we just have to use it wisely and creatively, like any powerful tool.

Well it seems as though this gets harder to start every day, so why not just jump into it?  My name is Toby Barazzuol and I founded Eclipse Awards almost 10 years ago.  At that time, we were a small company just finding our feet and learning about the possibilties of the internet.  We had no idea of the opportunites it would provide us with!

Since that time, we've learned what it takes to consistently be a world class awards company.  We also learned about the amazing power of recognition and how it can create leaders, motivate organizations, fuel movements, and above all, make people feel happy and appreciated.  The latest version of our website took close to 2 years to develop and we hope it draws together our years of experience in a way that makes it easier for you to recognize people you value and respect.

I'm really proud of our team and we get a lot of satisfaction from creating beautiful crystal awards that really connect with people.  We've built a solid reputation based on years of "getting it done" and I'm confident of our ability to work with organizations of any size around the world.

In a few months we'll be moving into our new "green" headquarters that we've carefully been renovating over the past few months.  With a solid foundation in place, I think that things are about to get really interesting!  We're committed to environmental and social sustainability as well as staying active in our community.  As we move forward, we want to explore what it means to be a company that cares about how we treat people and the environment.  Hopefully, we can do it in a way that will make others want to follow.

Just a few weeks ago we finished a big awards project for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal.  The conference resulted in a "historic" ozone pact that was described as "perhaps the most important breakthrough in international environmental negotiation process for at least five or six years".  Sometimes, it's tempting to hope that in some small ways, the work we do helps make the world a better place.

I hope that our story will help other companies as they tackle issues of sustainability and explore new ways of doing business. 

Stay tuned for a new blog from Eclipse Awards covering issues relating to the award and recognition industry as well as corporate social responsiblity.