sysco fresh produce awards - the importance of reflecting core business values

When it comes to creating custom awards, it’s important that they reflect the brand that they were created for. We understand the importance of embodying core business values with all of our awards, which is why we take into consideration branding and colours, imagery, materials, design and shape.

Each year, food distributor and wholesaler, Sysco, commissions us to create a fresh looking award that reflects their core business values. Sysco are committed to growing responsibly and connecting the world to share food and care for one another. 

With sustainable development in mind, we opted to create eco awards from recyclable clear acrylic and the clean natural aesthetic of maple wood. The smooth wood acts as the ideal surface to apply detailed engraving, adding character and a bespoke touch. 

Utilizing UV flatbed printing, we applied photographic quality to the acrylic to achieve themed imagery - opting for a different fruit / vegetable each year that vibrantly showcases the Sysco brand. The bright detailed imagery provides a beautiful contrast on the lower half of these sustainable designs.

The finishing touch to the awards is applied through an aluminum name tag that curves over the top edge and sits beautifully down one side to complete a truly unique and modern eco award. 

In addition to the awards, we crafted custom medals following the same design style. The medals feature a printed acrylic base plate to match the imagery on the main awards, with a laser engraved maple layer placed on top to include Sysco branding and bespoke text.

designing sports trophies to reward climbing the height of mount everest

Do you have what it takes to climb 29,029 vertical feet - the equivalent of Mount Everest - in 36 hours?

The 29029 events challenge hikers to do exactly that. Set at various mountains around North America, challengers hike up, take the gondola down, and repeat - until reaching the 29029 milestone. 

Completing the challenge once sounds impressive, but for some hikers it doesn’t end there. We were commissioned to create unique sports trophies to reward participants who had completed the feat 10 times.

Crafted from a beautiful blend of aluminum, warm red oak wood and vinyl, we developed a set of awards made from sustainably sourced materials and assembled them into an exciting abstract structure.

Using the oak wood as a solid base, we turned the awards into the 29029 logo and a mountainous pointed shape. This was achieved by housing a grey anodized aluminum triangle around the wooden base with one side of the triangle featuring a die-cut 29029 logo within the metal for bespoke branding and exquisite detail.

Inside the outer triangle sits three anodized red aluminum jagged pieces pointing up from the wooden base to further add to the mountain aesthetic.  

To help evoke a sense of pride and accomplishment through personalization, a vinyl plate sits on the opposing side of the triangle with UV flatbed prints applied to showcase the athletes names.

For additional intricate details and to represent finishing the challenge 10 times, we laser engraved 10 x 29029 brand logos to the oak wood — enhancing the custom designs to complete not just a symbol of achievement, but a work of art.

how to make reward and recognition sustainable

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important, both in business and beyond. For a business based in British Columbia, the importance of sustainability currently hits close to home while wildfires rage across Canada.

Such devastation as a result of global warming highlights the need for us as businesses to take responsible actions but also awakens consumer opinions — influencing purchasing habits to favor businesses openly pursuing greener measures. 

Increasing sustainable processes can challenge operations and mean that other important factors are forgotten, but it doesn’t mean that reward and recognition need to be neglected. 

Reward and recognition are an important part of business and key to improved employee engagement and retention. Showing effective appreciation creates a sense of value amongst employees to generate a loyal and motivated workforce who are eager to positively engage with the business and generate results.

So how can you ensure you’re showing reward and recognition successfully while maintaining sustainable actions?

Reward and recognition can be shown in many different forms. Recognizing employees during appreciation weeks, holding company events, awarding corporate gifts, monetary rewards, paid time off, gift cards or even just a shout out are all proven incentives for improved performance and ways of showing genuine appreciation and gratitude for hard work. 

On a larger scale, events and award ceremonies are ideal to bring employees together and publicly highlight appreciation. If you’re looking for ways to implement greener processes and still reward hard work with gifts or awards, we can help. 

At Eco Awards and Gifts, we take a sustainable approach to the production of our awards, trophies and corporate gifts to help you show reward and recognition sustainably. We consider the environmental impact of our processes and handcraft each award from eco-friendly materials.

We’re passionate about creating unique works of art, customized to match your branding or event theme and personalized for the recipients to show thoughtful appreciation and thanks. 

Customize from scratch or add your unique touch to one of our exclusive pre-designs. You can select the materials you’d like to include and work with us to bring the vision of your eco awards to life. Together we can create beautiful awards to highlight employee appreciation and help reduce your environmental impact.

creating timeless eco designs for the city of burnaby

Twelve years ago, Eco Awards and Gifts created an eco award design for the City of Burnaby. It was one of the first designs that Andrew Watson, founder and Creative Director, ever made - and we’re still crafting them annually for the City of Burnaby today. So how do you create a timeless design?

Creating a timeless award involves taking a host of factors into consideration. You need to contemplate what materials to use, how to fix them together and what shapes and sizes they’ll look best in. Added to the equation is a decision on colors, imagery and what (if any) additional design details to include for enhanced effect. 

When we first designed the award, we didn’t know that it was going to stand the test of time — but there are a few key details we’ve picked out that can be attributed to its continued commission. 

The decision to combine natural bamboo and 12mm solid surface without any visible fixings creates a clean and modern, yet classic aesthetic. The two materials compliment each other flawlessly and the wavy cuts assembled together in contrasting directions help the awards to stand out without appearing excessive or overly complex. 

Not only does bamboo have a beautifully smooth and natural appearance but as a renewable and biodegradable material, it also has minimal environmental impact. Solid surface is environmentally friendly too — renewable and repairable, it’s built to last. 

As creators of eco awards, integrating sustainable materials was an obvious and essential choice. Now, as public attitudes continue to develop in consideration of environmental impact, combining the two eco-friendly materials has proven to be another key design detail for the lasting effect of the awards. 

Burnaby Board of Trade and the City of Burnaby commissioned the custom eco designs in collaboration to recognize business excellence in the City. The inclusion of subtle UV prints allowed us to clearly add necessary branding requirements without detracting from the overall appearance.   

Over a decade later, we’re proud to have developed an award that is both sustainable and timeless. We’re delighted to still be working with the City of Burnaby and hope to continue to develop the awards long into the future.

crafting sustainable awards for disney’s environmental champions

““Conservation isn’t just the business of a few people, it’s a matter that concerns all of us””

— Walt Disney

Walt Disney was ahead of his time in many ways. After a challenging childhood, he went onto bring the art of animation to life through full length feature films, becoming a pioneering figure of 20th century entertainment and leaving a lasting mark on the development of modern day movies and television.

Disney was a creative genius, but it wasn’t just inside the world of entertainment that his impressive foresight stood out. He understood the challenges our environment faces and the need for sustainability long before it became a recognized issue within the public domain. 

In 1950 he famously stated “Conservation isn’t just the business of a few people, it’s a matter that concerns all of us”. Today, the Walt Disney Company is committed to taking meaningful action to protect the environment and leave the natural world in a healthy state for future generations. 

At Eco Awards and Gifts, we share the same ethos surrounding conservation and environmentally friendly business actions through a sustainable approach to the custom design and creation of unique, hand-crafted awards, trophies, gifts and plaques.

We were delighted to have the pleasure of designing and crafting custom eco recognition awards from sustainably sourced materials to reward Disney’s Environmental Champions of the Year. 

The eco awards feature a bamboo base - the fastest growing woody plant on earth - making it a great sustainable material to use.

Sandwiched between the wood is aluminum -  a highly recyclable material that has the potential to be recycled without losing any of its inherent properties. The nature of the metal enabled us to use waterjet cutting to achieve the circular globe shape and Mickey Mouse cut-out. 

Combining aluminum and bamboo allowed us to craft the awards completely from sustainably sourced materials. To meet Disney’s high-level branding requirements, the finishing touches include a printed brand logo and personalized text to reward and recognize those taking positive action towards Disney's environmental stewardship. 

why simple is sometimes best

““The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak””

— Hans Hofmann

Sometimes in life the best option is to keep it simple. When it comes to designing awards, it’s no different. 

Perhaps it’s easy to fall into the trap of viewing something simple as lacking substance. After all, simple often means less, which is inferior to more - right? Not necessarily. Simple is effective. It’s proven. And executed well, it’s no less powerful than complex.

At Eco Awards and Gifts, we’ve crafted a whole host of complex designs and intricately detailed trophies. All have been eye-catching, exquisite awards that we’ve been proud to have created for our clients — but that’s not to say our simple designs haven’t had the same striking effect. 

In 2022, we designed employee appreciation eco awards for Skedulo to recognize employees who had made an outstanding contribution to the company.

We opted for just one material to make up the environmentally friendly awards: natural maple wood. The nature of the wood allowed us to carve out an exciting shape including a chamfered top edge. 

Held in tropical Oahu, Hawaii, the smooth natural aesthetic provided by the maple reflected the event location. Maintaining a simple approach, we applied various UV flatbed prints to each side of the award including a beach themed full bleed graphic in Skedulo’s brand blue.   

The simplicity of effectively only using one material enabled us to create a clean and minimal, yet beautiful and sustainable final design to be awarded as a unique and memorable employee appreciation gift. 

Sometimes the complexity of day to day life can convolute our thoughts and processes when really all we need is a little simplicity.   

designing sustainable awards with recipient engagement

How do you design a sustainable award that recipients can build upon?

That was the task set to us by Avenue One to recognize an important milestone for employees within the company: 5000 homes stabilized. 

As with all of our custom awards, we entered into a meticulous design phase to develop a final concept that would hit a variety of requirements while remaining unique, elegant and eco-friendly.

Initial concepts included awards with moveable parts and other exciting elements that would allow recipients to physically engage with the design.

Given a set budget and the need to mass produce 250 awards, it was important for us to consider material costs and how we would successfully achieve the final product with the least complications. 

Avenue One has given thousands of families somewhere great to call home. Naturally, we opted for a design that resembled houses, using a contrast of beautiful solid oak wood and matte anodized aluminum in Avenue One’s brand blue. 

In consideration of the environment, the awards were handcrafted using only eco-friendly materials. 

The final product is a modern award, designed to act as a paperweight and displayed proudly on recipients desks. For those recognized with multiple awards when future milestones are reached, the design allows the houses to be assembled into a neighborhood style when lined up together. 

This was a fun project to be part of and we look forward to crafting more environmentally friendly awards and trophies that facilitate recipient participation in the future. 

designing and crafting eco-friendly awards for the United Nations

At Eco Awards and Gifts we specialize in a sustainable approach to the custom design and creation of unique, handcrafted awards, trophies, and plaques. 

So, when we received the brief to develop awards for the United Nations (UN), there was one main focus: to create an award that was as eco-friendly as possible. 

Before initiating the design phase, we first considered the UN’s 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goals lay out the path to a better world for all people and the planet and what we need to do collectively to get there.

With this in mind, we took special consideration of goals 13 and 15: Climate Action and Life on Land.

We used two primary materials. The first, maple wood from a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) supplier. We felt that this would help work towards the Life on Land SDG which aims to protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and sustainably manage forests.

As a small awards business based in scenic British Columbia, we recognize the beauty and importance of our incredible forests and the need for them to be sustainably managed and preserved.

Not only did the maple wood help to work towards this goal and ensure the awards were eco-friendly, it also provided the perfect material for sculpting into an exquisite design with a modern clean finish. 

To compliment the wood, we 3D printed the body of the eco awards from a PLA material. PLA is made from renewable resources such as corn starch or sugar cane. It’s recyclable, biodegradable and compostable — helping us work towards the Climate Action SDG to urgently combat climate change. 

Combining sustainable maple wood with 3D printed PLA allowed us to craft an award that was contemporary and striking, yet sustainable and environmentally friendly. 

A trophy design studio with extensive experience in the creation of unique, handcrafted, eco awards, we are always excited to take on new projects and bring client ideas to life using sustainable, recovered and recycled materials. 

why your business should focus on sustainability in 2024

Climate change has become a major issue within the public domain. As global temperatures continue to rise, so does the topic of conversation, with the threat of global warming increasingly becoming reality. Extreme temperatures, flooding and droughts, landslides, wildfires and large storms — it’s becoming harder to ignore the impact humans are having on the planet. The result? Attitudes are changing and consumers are seeking out greener alternatives.

A study by Business Wire suggests that in the last five years, 85% of people globally have changed their purchasing habits to become more sustainable. It’s no surprise that businesses are responding by considering their processes and stance on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The outcome has been positive. In 2022, a survey found that 80% of retailers who embarked on altering their business to reduce their environmental impact have resulted in increased customer loyalty. 

Surrounded by towering mountains, as we design and craft our awards from the picturesque town of Squamish, British Columbia, we’re reminded daily of the beautiful natural world we have a responsibility to protect. If your business is adapting to a greener approach this year, then we can help provide environmentally friendly awards for your corporate event or employee recognition gifts. 

We specialize in a sustainable approach to the custom design and creation of unique, handcrafted awards, trophies, and plaques using locally sourced materials. Having worked with clients such as the United Nations and BluEarth Renewables, we understand the importance of manufacturing awards using eco-friendly materials - and considering the environmental impact of our processes - while still achieving high-level corporate branding and contemporary designs. 

With the global opinion likely to continue to sway further in favor of the positive preservation of the planet, now is as good a time as any to employ greener business practices for a healthier natural world and future business prospects. 

chfa - unique eco award collection

We completed a series of custom designs specifically for the 2015 CHFA awards ceremony. We customized some of our pre-designed awards and created a few new designs too. Together they are a unique collection that represent a tiered awards system. Incorporating the clients corporate color palette, we created a colorful sub-graphic for the awards. Then we used a variety of recovered and FSC Maple, as well as caramel bamboo for the top tier award. No new 'off-the-shelf' Maple was purchased for these awards.  

bcit space / technology awards

We finished these fantastic space/technology themed awards. A custom award created specifically for BCIT (British Columbia Intestate of Technology). We have worked with BCIT for several years now, providing them with unique, creative and meaningful trophies and awards. 

tech awards....

We worked closely with out client to create something very exciting. Effective collaboration will always yield a great result!

custom paperweights

We don't just make custom trophies and awards, we also make custom and creative gifts! These custom paperweights look fantastic. Printed in full colour with our digital flatbed UV printer. 

eco paperweights - new modern design!

Introducing our new bamboo paperweights. These are handcrafted from eco friendly bamboo and come in two-tone (as pictured), solid caramel or solid natural. They are the prefect corporate gifts or just a small thank you for someone special. We can print in full colour on these as well with our UV flatbed printer. So you can be assured we can match your corporate colour palette (PMS or CMYK). White and gloss inks too. 

Corporate gifts do not need to be boring like the old fashioned glass or crystal 'doorstops'. Give a unique and modern gift instead. Or contact us about creating something custom. As well as awards and trophies, we specialise in corporate gifts. 

unique gifts

We made these modern gifts for Cadillac Fairview to give away to show thanks and appreciation. 

new eco awards: two-tone bamboo

We have just finished designing a new award for our 'eco' range; the two-tone eco bamboo award! We can make these with a full colour plaque (as pictured) or with the front laser engraved directly into the bamboo. These awards are quick to produce making them ideal for last minute events. 

custom aluminium award - pyramid

Our modern interpretation of the classic pyramid style award. We used a modern aluminium instead of the usual glass or crystal that most awards are made out of. 

custom perpetual trophy - eco materials

We just finished this fantastic custom perpetual football trophy for our client. We specialise in custom corporate recognition products but, we can also design for sporting events.

This custom perpetual football trophy has been handcrafted from locally sourced Douglas Fir wood, anodised aluminium and finished with screen printed text and graphics. We believe that creating modern and unique sporting trophies is important as most sporting trophies are boring and mostly look the same (cup style). 

Andrew Watson Design specialises in custom handcrafted corporate recognition awards trophies and plaques. We work globally providing high quality custom handcrafted corporate recognition awards trophies and plaques to our clients in Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand. We ship to all major cities and regional destinations.