Submissions for 2013 Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards in Business Leadership, Innovation and Student Leadership Now Open

TORONTO, Nov. 20, 2012 /CNW/ - With rewards totalling $75,000, Scotiabank today announced the opening of submissions for the Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards, a unique Canada-wide awards program that recognizes businesses, innovators and students for excellence in the development of home energy efficiency products, services and solutions. Submissions can be made through Scotiabank's EcoLiving website until February 15, 2013.

"The EcoLiving Awards showcase outstanding Canadian home energy efficiency solutions at all levels - from students to business leaders - and we're looking forward to another year of high-calibre submissions," said Kaz Flinn, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for Scotiabank. "It's the only awards program in Canada that recognizes home efficiency excellence. We're thrilled to reward innovators and share their energy-saving ideas with all Canadians."

The Scotiabank EcoLiving awards are:

• The Scotiabank EcoLiving Business Leadership Award ($50,000) - to be awarded to a business or individual who is leading the way in home energy efficiency products, services or solutions.
  
  
• The EcoLiving Innovators Award ($15,000) - will go to a business or individual who is demonstrating innovation in home energy efficient products, services and solutions. Where the Business Leadership Award will focus primarily on the execution of a proven idea or program, the Innovator's Award will focus on the introduction of exciting new ideas for products or programs.
  
  
• The Scotiabank EcoLiving Student Leadership Award ($10,000) - will be awarded to a full-time college or university student who demonstrates promise for the future of home energy conservation.

Full information on the awards, including submission forms, key dates, eligibility and judging criterion are now available exclusively on Scotiabank's EcoLiving website, http://ecoliving.scotiabank.com/awards.

The largest green awards program in Canada, the Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards were introduced in 2011 and are a cornerstone of the Bank's broader EcoLiving Program aimed at enabling and encouraging Canadians to save money and energy at home.

Winners of the first EcoLiving Awards came from across Canada. BUILD of Winnipeg, Manitoba won the Scotiabank EcoLiving Business Leadership Award for its pioneering not-for-profit program of retrofitting low-income Winnipeg homes with energy saving materials. EcoPlusHome of Bathurst, New Brunswick, a company that designs and builds prefabricated homes that put zero demand on the power grid won the Scotiabank EcoLiving Innovators Award. Eden Full, of Calgary, Alberta, received the Scotiabank EcoLiving Student Leadership Award for her invention of the SunSaluter, an affordable tracking rotation system that maximizes the output of solar panels requiring 40 per cent fewer panels. Learn more about their solutions and progress at http://ecoliving.scotiabank.com/articles/where-are-they-now

About the Scotiabank EcoLiving Program
The Scotiabank EcoLiving Program launched in June, 2010. The website, www.scotiabank.com/ecoliving, is a unique online consumer resource that provides home greening options together with government rebate and financial savings information all in one place - providing an easy-to-use resource for Canadians to learn about, plan and compare green home improvement options. The website includes project planning tools and a financial calculator to allow visitors to compare products and rebates, plan and finance their projects and see the savings that can result from each energy efficient renovation. The EcoLiving Magazine is available twice yearly in Scotiabank branches and the Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards recognize innovation in residential energy efficiency.

About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With more than 81,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates serve some 19 million customers in more than 55 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With assets of $670 billion (as at July 31, 2012), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com

SOURCE: Scotiabank