Banksia Environmental Foundation

Banksia Environmental Foundation Membership

As a member of the Banksia Environmental Foundation not only do you support the activities of the Foundation, but you have voting rights at the Banksia Environmental Foundation Annual General Meeting. This includes voting for Board Members.

Banksia has been operating it's Environmental Awards since 1989 and is one of the very few independent organisations acknowleding excellent environmental practices across Australia. Join our Sponsors who so generously support this organisation in guaranteeing our continued success and autonomy.

Cost of Membership is: $55 (including GST) per year.

PLEASE NOTE AS FROM 2007 ALL MEMBERSHIPS RENEWALS WILL BE DUE 1ST OCTOBER.

Download Membership Form

Annual General Meeting of the Banksia Environmental Foundation

The 2009 Annual General Meeting of the Banksia Environmental Foundation is to be held in October 2009.

Election of Board Members will take place at this time.

If you wish to put your name forward for Board Membership or nominate another member, you must be a member of the Banksia Environmental Foundation, complete a nomination form and have it countersigned by another member. For Nomination forms contact Banksia on (03) 9864 4667.

If you wish to vote for a member to be appointed to the Board, you must be a member of the Banksia Environmental Foundation and attend the AGM to vote. If you are unable to attend and wish to vote, you must complete a proxy form to appoint another member to vote on your behalf. For Proxy forms contact Banksia on (03) 9864 4667.

All members of the Banksia Environmental Foundation are contacted prior to each AGM with details of the upcoming meeting.

For details on the current Board Members click here.

2007 AGM Chairs Report

2007 saw a departure from the usual format of the Awards night to a taste of the future where Sport for the Environment – a committed group of highly awarded sports people led by Olympic champion swimmer Ian Thorpe and Olympic champion aerial skier Alissa Camplin, publicly pledged to work through the Banksia Foundation to integrate environmental principles via the sporting culture of Australia, into the mainstream community.

The International Award winner this year was Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California who was humbled and delighted to accept the Award, sending the US Ambassador to Australia to represent him.

The Banksia Foundation continues to concentrate on its core business of creating a better environment for all by rewarding good practice and behaviour. The Awards night is an opportunity to publicly reward those individuals, businesses, governments and community organisations for their dedicated performance and pursuit of sustainable practices.

Again our business affiliates set high standards by adopting the Banksia vision and action. Origin, DaimlerChrysler, Zinifex, Telstra, the Laminex Group, Dupont, Double A and mecu actively and publicly demonstrate their total commitment and have additionally supported the formation of a successful Banksia Business Club which meets and promotes dialogue and exchange of practical ideas and opportunities in environmental practice.

Government affiliates such as the Australian Departments of Agriculture Forests and Fisheries and Environment and Heritage, Parks Victoria, South Australian government, Department of Environment and Sustainability Victoria and the NSW Department of Environment and Conservation continue to lead the government sector and pave the way for other state government departments.

Our major partner, the Australian government Department of Environment and Water Resources in conjunction with the Prime Minister, sets the national goal of sustainability as a priority, continuing to support and promote the Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year Award chosen by our Prime Minister. It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge the recent decision by the federal Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Hon Malcolm Turnbull, to renew the partnership for another three years and expand it with an additional award of the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources "Young Environmentalist of the Year Award" in 2008.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the incredible generosity of our special affiliates. Visy Closed Loop continues to generously host our office and provide support for our small but hard working staff and its energetic Managing Director Rob Pascoe, remains a special advisor to the board. URS, The Australian newspaper, Waste Management and Environment Magazine and Environmental Manager Magazine are affiliates of the Foundation and provide specialist services in media, quality assurance and judging.

The foundation owes a great debt to our highly skilled, independent judges who are drawn from the best expertise available around Australia and work to incredible timeframes and schedules to thoroughly evaluate every entry. They dedicate their time to carefully select winners and ensure we retain the highest standards of excellence.

The foundation will hold a two day Forum in November utilising previous winners of Banksia Awards who have made the change and reaped the rewards of better environmental and economic management. This forum is design to demonstrate "how to do it" at a practical level and engender change within the community, the company or the department. Rather than dwell on the esoteric, Banksia puts experience and award winners into action.

We also welcome a new part time staff member, Wayne Slattery as Marketing and Administrative Assistant. Our team in the Foundation is the best there is!

The Banksia Board members volunteer their expertise and time to the board because they are committed and passionate about ensuring a successful intergenerational change in both attitudes to the environment and the physical minimization of our human footprint.

Our vision for the Banksia Foundation is that, it continues to be the pre-eminent leader in recognizing achievement in sustainability; it sets a serious challenge for business, government and the community to be proactive for change and moves the environmental agenda forward to ensure that everyone has a connection to and responsibility for our planet.

Maree McCaskill
Chair
Banksia Environmental Foundation Board of Management
25th November 2007