Awards totalling $75,000 will recognize excellence in home energy solutions

TORONTO, Jan. 15, 2013 /CNW/ - Got a great home energy efficiency solution? If so you could win a share of $75,000 in awards being offered through the Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards - but time to enter is running out! Submissions must be made to the Scotiabank EcoLiving website by February 15, 2013 to be considered for one of three awards.

The Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards is 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.

"The EcoLiving Awards showcase outstanding Canadian home energy efficiency solutions at all levels - from students to business leaders - and we encourage everyone who has an idea, solution or product to make a submission in time to be considered for an award," said Kaz Flinn, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for Scotiabank. "It's the only awards program in Canada that recognizes home efficiency excellence so it's the perfect opportunity for innovators to share their ideas for a chance to win awards totalling $75,000!"

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 efficiency 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 first EcoLiving Awards were presented in 2011 to winners 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. In December 2012, Scotiabank became the first Canadian bank to be named Global Bank of the Year and Bank of the Year in the Americas by The Banker magazine, a Financial Times publication. With assets of $668 billion (as at October 31, 2012), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.

SOURCE: Scotiabank