e-Waste Social Enterprise wins Premier’s Sustainability Award

The Premier’s Recognition Award was won at last night’s Premier’s Sustainability Awards by Enable Social Enterprises for their work employing disadvantaged people in a successful e-waste business.

Enable is a social enterprise whose mission is to break unemployment cycles by helping disadvantaged jobseekers connect with community and environment, and improve prospects of participating in gainful employment through supportive work and learning programs.

Enable achieves its goals via commercial ventures: Enable IT Recycling, an online shop, fulfilment and storage services. These businesses reuse, repair or recycle technology whilst providing vital work and learning opportunities for those in need. In 2018, their IT Recycling business created 10 employment pathways while diverting 133,046kgs of e-waste from landfill.

Premier of Victoria, The Hon. Daniel Andrews congratulated and thanked the finalists for their hard work helping to achieve a stronger, more sustainable Victoria in his message at the awards ceremony.

The Finnigan family farm in Warrnambool, Kia Ora, was selected by the Premier as the winner of the Premier's Regional Recognition Award for their program, E.S.P. or Ethical, Sustainable, Profitable Wool. The team had earlier won the Small and Medium Enterprises category award.

As part of the Fox and Lillie Genneys Group, Kia Ora was accredited under the International Wool Textile Organisation’s Responsible Wool Standard. There is no higher wool quality standard.

The inaugural Environmental Volunteering category was won by Electrifying Industry Volunteer Working Group, expert volunteers who produced a report, Electrifying Industry, a world’s first that shows how to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing.

For more information visit sustainabilityawards.vic.gov.au