Published on 22 June 2023
Council’s first annual Business of the Year Awards celebrate local achievements in business performance, innovation, and social responsibility. Businesses were judged against set criteria, including environmental sustainability practices, future plans, diversity and customer service, and manufacturing practices.
Vision on Koornang was the overall winner as well as taking out the Professions and Service Business category.
Little Z in Bentleigh opened in October 2022 and combines the four owners’ love of food with the goal of bringing smiles to people’s faces. The multicultural staff is committed to diversity and caters to a range of religious traditions on request.
Vision on Koornang has provided optometry services to Carnegie and Glen Eira since 1989. They offer a collection point for disused spectacles, and the Lions Club will repurpose them, giving them to disadvantaged people. Vision on Koornang also stocks environmentally sustainable glasses and frames.
Charlie’s Fine Food Co in Bentleigh is an Australian family-owned business that bakes with quality ingredients, producing eight to 10 tonnes of baked goods per week. Charlie’s seeks local suppliers and uses only free-range eggs. 141 solar panels on the bakery roof generate over 50,000 kWhs of energy per year. Charlie’s uses biodegradable shrink wrap, uses a compacting system for cardboard and uses 100 per cent certified home-compostable film and recyclable boxes and PET trays. Charlie’s donates almost $50,000 a year in cookies to local organisations and charities.
The Rifle Club Goes Bang Bang in Elsternwick serves an Indochine-inspired menu. It is committed to treating its diverse employees with respect, empowering them to work as a team. The Rifle Club uses an organic waste collection company to transform food waste into fertilisers and support sustainable insect-breeding programs.
The Break offers a suite of therapeutic services across a broad scope of areas and providing care to people of all ages. The organisation works with people overcoming addictions, managing mental health issues, battling social disconnection, experiencing disability or seeking meaning or relevance. Thanks to a Safer Communities grant, The Break has been able to pay some of its volunteers and expand into youth-justice work. The Break aims to create a world-best-practice addiction and mental health rehabilitation centre in Vietnam in five years and expand across the east coast of Australia.
Chesterville Dental, in Bentleigh East, offers comprehensive dental treatments using the latest technologies. Their new dental clinic will be powered completely by solar energy, and the team is seeking biodegradable supplies. The practice plans to run a dental charity day providing free dental treatment to those in need.
The Planet Earth Cleaning Company has helped other businesses become sustainable for more than 30 years. It is Australia’s first green commercial cleaning company.
Harvey's Iron Man Services is a microbusiness that provides shirt-ironing services. Established in 2019 the business has developed a reputation for attention to detail and excellent customer service. Owner Harvey O’Dwyer, who has Down Syndrome and an intellectual disability, prides himself on being an entrepreneur. He operates from his home office and offers complimentary pick-up and drop-off services to customers living nearby.
The business is chemical free and uses solar power. It reuses high-quality clothing-bag covers and coat hangers to reduce waste.
Harvey has been able to connect with many new people in the community, raise important messages and awareness for diversity and inclusion, and inspire others to achieve.
We thank all of the entrants for their participation and support of this program and congratulate the winners on their achievements.
07 July 2019
NAIDOC Week (7 to 14 July) celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
08 July 2019
Last week Council approved a shortlist of potential purchasers for its three residential aged care facilities — Spurway, Rosstown and Warrawee.
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