Sustainable Leadership Awards
The Sustainable Leadership Award has two categories:
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Executive Leadership
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Sustainability Champion
These awards are designed to recognize individuals or teams within businesses that deliver both short-term and long-term solutions that provide documented social, environmental, and economic value. Sustainability reflects both a mindset and a value set. These awards recognize leaders that mentor and facilitate the engagement, discovery, and implementation of practices that deliver environmental, social, and economic lessons and results. These individuals freely share their passion, wisdom and dedication to their work and are seen as a leader in their circles of influence.
The Sustainable Leadership awards honor individuals who pursue and deliver business practices that serve all stakeholders, from shareholders to employees and from customers to community members. These individuals show an outstanding commitment to sustainable business practices and are models for others.
The Executive Leader Award will be given to an individual who:
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Serves as a visionary leader with a broad lens, taking a strong stance on moving an organization and culture towards sustainability
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Empowers sustainable decision-making throughout the organization and exemplifies social and/or environmental impact for customers and communities
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Has a succinct message on sustainability and champions their teams, recognizing and celebrating successes
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Understands the importance and acts on educating stakeholder groups about sustainability
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Goes above and beyond on a consistent basis and gives back to their community in impactful ways
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Champions the organization to align with local and/or global movements. For example, the Sustainable Development Goals, Green Masters' Program, B Corporation, We’re Still In, etc.
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Connects to sustainability on a personal level
The Sustainability Champion award will go to an individual who:
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Creates systems that integrate sustainability, for example, develops metrics, policies, or processes
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Works to generate buy-in, and align sustainability with corporate culture
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Engages stakeholders on sustainability through multiple channels, recognizing and celebrating successes
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Creates opportunities for leadership and/or innovation in others or departments
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Makes sustainability personal and perhaps contributes to their community in a meaningful way
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Goes above and beyond, whether sustainability is their job title or not
A sustainability leader can be anyone that embraces the possibilities of change and integrates principles of sustainability into day-to-day business operations. The Sustainability Champion Award recognizes the vision and commitment of individuals that often go unrecognized.
Applications should include identification, and, if possible, quantification of direct and indirect impacts of the individual.
2022 WINNER
Scott Louks, Sustainability Manager
Mercury Marine, Fond du Lac
As Mercury Marine's sustainability manager for the last 7 + years, Scott coordinates global sustainability efforts to advance strategy, operations, and culture. In this role, Scott has developed and implemented their roadmap, defining sustainability growth areas. He leads the company’s sustainability committee and reviews and recommends actions on improvement related to their four pillars of energy, environment, product, and people. He takes a wide lens of stewardship and has excelled as an inspirational leader and consensus builder. He has successfully driven
projects to meet goals, uses data and sound rationale to win over senior management, and defines the investment benefits. Scott goes above and beyond both in his personal and professional lives.
PAST WINNERS
Legacy Solar Co-op
Madison
Kurt Reinhold
Kurt Reinhold, the founder of the Legacy Solar Co-op, challenges conventional business practices and demonstrates cutting-edge environmental leadership through his innovative tax financing mechanism that has facilitated almost 40 solar projects for the Wisconsin community. Reinhold has also created a ‘solar bond’/ revolving loan program, specifically unique to Wisconsin, and has lent out more than $1M in the first 5 years from the start of the co-ops. Reinhold’s enthusiasm for clean, renewable energy is infectious, and he passionately shares his work, vision, and knowledge with others to integrate sustainability into our day-to-day lives.
Learn more about Legacy Solar Co-op and Kurt in this interview
Nature’s Path
Sussex
Jyoti Stephens
For more than 20 years, Jyoti Stephens has been a key leader in sustainability at Nature’s Path. As VP Mission & Strategy, Stephens developed the Nature’s Path sustainability strategies: organic, carbon-neutral, zero-waste, preserve water, giveback, and educate, inspire, and engage. Stephens has led the team that achieved the corporate designation of the first zero-waste certified company with multinational sites, diverting over 90% of corporate waste from landfills. It is clear that Stephens shows outstanding commitment to sustainable business practices and acts as a model for others to learn from.
Amanda Goetsch, InPro Corporation
Muskego
Amanda is one of the young sustainable business-focused professionals who graduated with a science degree from the University of Wisconsin. Fresh out of graduate school she met with the CEO of Inpro, a mid-size product manufacturing firm in Waukesha County. Amanda was able to communicate how expanding the Inpro sustainability program would be multi-beneficial; a win to the business, to the environment and to the community within which they operate. So began her professional career as a sustainability leader in the private sector.
Amanda has been an enthusiastic leader within the organization for more than four years. With a passion for blending strategically smart business practices with the tools needed for a more sustainable future, she continues to develop a robust sustainability program. She successfully led colleagues to expand their definition of sustainability beyond “being green” to the point where they understand the relationship between business, the environment, and our communities.
She helped her colleagues throughout the company expand their understanding of sustainability both at work and at home. For example, she secured a contract with Cool Choices for an eight-week game around making more sustainable choices. 51% of her colleagues played. They saved energy, water, and money all while improving physical and mental health.
