TRI-STATE BIODIESEL SELECTED AS A FINALIST FOR SOCIAL VENTURE NETWORK'S 2008 INNOVATION AWARDS
Tri-State Biodiesel is the first biodiesel company to be selected as a finalist for this important award for Socially Conscious Entrepreneurs.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Sept. 3, 2008)-Social Venture Network (SVN), the country's leading network of socially responsible entrepreneurs, investors and nonprofit leaders, today revealed the 12 Finalists for its 2nd Annual Innovation Awards program. The initiative supports the "next generation" of socially responsible business and nonprofit leaders by providing them access to the people and resources to help develop their ideas into successful enterprises.
New York City based biodiesel company, Tri-State Biodiesel, is proud to have been selected for the prestigious award. The company is being recognized for its work in pioneering a new approach to biodiesel production. TSB focuses on removing used oils from the urban waste-stream (primarily from restaurants) and recycling them into clean-burning biodiesel fuel. The TSB model is a sustainable, vertically integrated, locally sourced, low-transportation, waste to energy, urban approach to biodiesel production. The company's model drastically cuts the carbon footprint of biodiesel production through local sourcing and sales and by exclusively using waste cooking oil for biodiesel production.
"Just to be nominated for consideration by one of the United State's most powerful forces for social good, is a great honor, but selection as a finalist is a phenomenal opportunity." Says Tri-State Biodiesel's CEO Brent Baker. "We hope that this selection will raise not only our profile, but also the profile of sustainably produced biodiesel as a whole."
"SVN received a strong group of applications this year and are thrilled by the response to the program," said Deborah Nelson, Executive Director of Social Venture Network. "We're honored that we have the opportunity to support the work of these 12 truly incredible and pioneering organizations. Narrowing the finalist field down to six winners will be a challenging task."
The finalists will go through another round of judging and then the judges, all leaders in the social venture field, will select six Innovation Award winners later this month. The Innovation Award winners will receive a one-year membership to SVN as well as registration and special recognition at the invitation-only SVN Fall 2008 Conference from October 23-26 at the Estancia La Jolla outside of San Diego, California. The winners will be honored in a special ceremony hosted by Ed Begley, Jr. on October 24th, and will have the opportunity to share their work with an audience of successful socially responsible business leaders, investors and nonprofit leaders. The winners will be promoted for one year on the SVN Website and in media outlets and be partnered with select SVN mentors, who will give advice to the winners and make helpful introductions throughout 2009.
Other finalists joining Tri-State Biodiesel include:
CleanFish, Numi Tea, Revolution Foods, Partners for the Common Good, Ecoist, MicroCredit Enterprises, Laborfair.com, Michelle Kaufmann Designs', Planting Empowerment (PE), Root Capital, and Springboard Forward
SVN is a peer-to-peer member network of nearly 500 CEO's, investors, and nonprofit leaders who are running the country's most cutting-edge socially responsible businesses and nonprofits. Since 1987, SVN has inspired a community of leading business and social entrepreneurs by nurturing the growth and prevalence of initiatives such as socially responsible investing, sustainable economies, fair trade and organic/eco living. SVN champions this effort through member-led initiatives, sharing of tools and best practices, the SVN Book Series and bi-annual conferences that strengthen and empower its members to work together on behalf of this shared vision.
About Tri-State Biodiesel
Tri-State Biodiesel is a New York City based company dedicated to providing the city and the surrounding region with clean, renewable Biodiesel fuel. Founded by local environmentalists and entrepreneurs, Tri-State Biodiesel is on the cutting edge of bringing this exciting new home-grown fuel to the NYC area. Tri-State Biodiesel is proud to provide free cooking oil recycling to 1000s of restaurants and to be the first company to market biodiesel to private fleets in NYC. Our fuel can be used in any diesel equipment, it reduces emissions by about 75%, and is about 90% less toxic than petroleum diesel. Last year, biodiesel made from our cooking oil displaced about 7 million pounds of global warming gases from the atmosphere and made the air we breathe less toxic. By supporting Tri-State Biodiesel you are supporting a sustainable future for New York and a brighter future for everyone!
About Social Venture Network
Founded in 1987 by Josh Mailman and Wayne Silby, Social Venture Network (SVN) is a nonprofit network committed to building a just economy and sustainable planet. SVN believes in a triple bottom line for business, one that values healthy communities and the human spirit as well as high returns. SVN members are part of an expanding global network of pioneering entrepreneurs who share this vision and are helping to transform the way the world does business.
Notable SVN members include Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's, Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farm, Van Jones of Green for All/Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Eileen Fisher of Eileen Fisher Inc., Julius Walls, Jr. of Greyston Bakery, Amy Domini of Domini Social Investments, Tom Szaky of TerraCycle, and Gary Erickson of Clif Bar Inc. These entrepreneurs have prioritized both social concerns and profitability to create successful businesses.