Youth-Led Organization Named 2010 Canadian Eco-Leader

Bosch awards local Kingston, Ontario group the Kingston Sustainability Centre with $5,000 to be used towards helping to advance their cause of environmental responsibility

TORONTO, Dec. 8 /CNW/ - Bosch Home Appliances awards Southern Ontario's Kingston Sustainability Centre (KSC) with the 2010 Canadian Eco-Leader Award - a $5,000 prize and mentorship opportunity - to help advance Kingston's vision of becoming "Canada's Most Sustainable City."

In an effort to raise awareness and celebrate grassroots environmental endeavours of communities across the country, Bosch - a global leader in sustainable thinking - led an ongoing campaign which encouraged Canadians to nominate organizations and individuals who best engaged Bosch's five principles of environmental protection - sustainability, responsibility, products, processes and continuous improvement - within their community-based programs and projects.

"Bosch's Canadian Eco-Leader Award is designed to celebrate and recognize the great work that Canadians are doing within their communities to create greener, more sustainable lifestyles for themselves, their families, and future generations," said Steve Preiner, Director of Marketing, Bosch Home Appliances Ltd. "The Kingston Sustainability Centre is a stellar example of an organization changing the way its community engages with the environment."

The KSC - www.kingstonsustainabilitycentre.com - is a youth-led, not-for-profit community education centre that aims to advance Kingston's "Most Sustainable City" vision. The KSC delivers a central platform to unite and harness the energy of Kingston's youth as the catalyst of change. Open to the public six days a week, visitors to the KSC experience face-to-face learning about the journey towards sustainability.

"The KSC has created a home that fosters positive behavourial change that is necessary in creating the worldly transformation we need," said Randy Cluff, founder of the Kingston Sustainability Centre. "It has been through the energy and devotion of Kingston's youth that the KSC has been able to join this exciting journey to a sustainable future."

Over the course of the nomination period, Bosch received numerous individual entries that highlighted a range of local sustainability and environmental projects across the country.

Honorable mentions include:

• Cowichan Green Community, Duncan, BC
• CEED Centre Society, Maple Ridge, BC
• Hyde Creek Watershed Society, Port Coquitlam, BC
• The Friends of Banff National Park, Banff, AB
• The Barrie Earth Hour Music Festival, Barrie, ON
• Peterborough Green-Up Association, Peterborough, ON
• York Region Environmental Alliance, Richmond Hill, ON
• Initiative Pensons Climat/Think Climate Initiative, Quebec, QC
• Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association, Emerald, PEI

2010 Canadian Eco-Leader Award

The 2010 Canadian Eco-Leader will receive a one-time monetary award - The Bosch Eco-lution Fund - to help advance the cause of environmental responsibility. The recipient will also be awarded a mentoring opportunity with Bosch representatives, Dr. David Bell (Bosch spokesperson, chair of Learning for a Sustainable Future, co-chair of Education Alliance for a Sustainable Ontario and co-chair of ESD Canada), and select environmental and sustainability experts. These experts will commit their time to meet with the recipient and share their expertise and experiences on eco-friendly sustainable business practices and discuss how an innovative approach to community and business is the key to environmental preservation.

About Bosch
Bosch Home Appliances is part of BSH Home Appliances Corporation, a fully-owned subsidiary of BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, the third largest home appliance manufacturer in the world.  Inspired by the lifestyle of today's discerning consumers, all Bosch products combine superior performance and excellent quality with unrivaled ease-of-use.  Opened in 1997, the company's appliance park in New Bern, North Carolina is comprised of state-of-the-art factories for washers, dryers, dishwashers, ranges, ovens and cooktops. The leader in environmentally-friendly home appliances, Bosch manufactures products that regularly receive industry and consumer awards and its dishwashers are consistently top-ranked by leading consumer magazines. Bosch is the only North American manufacturer with entire product lines of ENERGY STAR® qualified dishwashers, washers and refrigeration.   For more information, please visit www.bosch-home.ca or call 1.800.921.9622 to request a catalogue. EcoSmart™, ActiveWater™, ActiveClean™, ActiveDry™, DynamicAir™, EcoSensor®, EcoAction®, AVS™, and AquaStop® are trademarks of BSH Home Appliances Corporation.

NEW CORPORATE PROFILE
BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH is a corporate group operating worldwide, which posts annual sales in the year 2008 of about 8.76 billion Euros. It stemmed from a joint venture set up in 1967 between Robert Bosch GmbH (Stuttgart) and Siemens AG (Munich). Today, BSH operates 42 factories in 13 countries in Europe, the USA, Latin America and Asia. Together with a global network of sales and customer service firms, the BSH family is today made up of about 70 companies in more than 40 countries, employing more than 40,000 people. With a comprehensive brand portfolio including Bosch, Thermador and Gaggenau, BSH caters to a diverse range of consumers from mass premium to luxury segments.

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