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.