The Finder Green Awards is an annual celebration that helps Australians find the companies leading the way on environmental sustainability in the sectors that we compare. With awards in the energy, insurance, banking, superannuation and telecommunications industries, this is one of the broadest sustainability awards programs in Australia.
A massive congratulations to the following brands that continue to adopt eco-friendly practices in their respective industries:
Product and Industry Awards
This is the fourth time Bank Australia has won this category and in 2024 it stood out for its low emissions and an impressive suite of sustainability-focused products, like their Clean Energy Home Loan and the Eco Pause Loans.
QBE Insurance impressed the judges with its low operational emissions and strong targets - making it well deserving of the Green Insurer of the Year title. This marks the 5th consecutive award QBE has received in the Finder Green Awards.
Gateway Bank bagged the Green Home Loan of the Year title again in 2024, following their debut win in the 2023 Green Awards. Gateway Bank's Green Home Loan and Green Plus Home loan offers a range of sustainability features, including residential efficiency scorecards and formal confirmation and evidence of green certifications like the NatHERs Certification with a 7-star rating or above.
With previous wins in 2020, 2021, and 2023, Energy Locals has secured the title of Green Energy Retailer of the Year in 2024. Energy Locals generates power from renewable sources including sugarcane and wood waste. They also support the government-accredited GreenPower program. Customers can elect to add 100%, 50%, or 10% GreenPower when they join.
For the fifth year in a row, Brighte has brought home the Green Lender of the Year prize. Its high proportion of green loans makes it a strong leader in this category. Brighte walks the walk - with a commitment to using 100% renewable energy to power its office and minimising its environmental impact across operations.
This category was hotly contested and the judges also wanted to recognise Great Southern Bank as a highly commended brand. GSB is carbon neutral, has admirable renewable energy and landfill avoidance rates and has a clear and publicly available climate action plan that outlines their commitment to source 100% renewable energy for their offices and branches by 2030.
For the second year running, felix won the Green Telco of the Year prize. With 100% renewable energy and a landfill avoidance rate of 96% - thanks to eSims and physical cards being made of PCV - felix was the standout in the category.
Hyundai's IONIQ 6 won the Green Car of the Year award for the second year in a row. This vehicle is a pure EV built with sustainable materials including bio-paint and sugarcane-derived thread in the head lining. The IONIQ 6 also includes a high-efficiency heat pump system which uses waste heat energy from other systems to save additional energy.
People and Innovation Categories
Allegro Energy has been awarded the title of Green Innovation of the Year for its impressive range of redox flow batteries. The judges recognised the project offers a true technological innovation within the energy space.
Hisense's EcoVision Bottom Mount 503L Fridge received a highly commended award in the hotly contested Green Innovation category. The Hisense fridge has an impressive suite of sustainability features and has a coveted 8-star Energy rating.
Guy Dickinson from Clima Solutions has been recognised with the title of Green Leader of the Year. As an industry leader, he has spearheaded market-leading innovations at BetaCarbon, Clima, and Gondwana Carbon. The judges were impressed with Guy's strong background in carbon-crediting technology, which encourages businesses to be conscious of their carbon footprint.
Clima Solutions also claimed the title of Green Team of the Year, marking its debut in the Finder Green Awards with two wins. The team has developed a comprehensive platform-based end-to-end greenhouse gas solution, including measurements around end-of-life usage. Over the past year, the team retired over 100,000 tonnes of carbon credits which significantly contributed to global carbon reduction efforts.
Relevant companies are invited to enter the awards and winners are selected each year based on broad and sector-specific environmental metrics. These include but are not limited to greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy usage and waste-avoiding landfill. Specific questions can be found on the entry forms above and the weighting for scoring in each category can be found in the 2024 Finder Green Awards methodology document, which can be downloaded on the link below.
If you have questions or want to find out more about the Finder Green Awards then please get in touch with the Finder Awards team via awards@finder.com.
Finder Green Awards Terms & Conditions
This supermarket gift card hack can earn you points while you buy a new phone.
Straight-up advice on your biggest financial dilemmas and money confessions - when you're not sure of your next step, our experts are!
A worrying number of holidaymakers are forgoing travel insurance when they jet off, according to new research by Finder.
Millions of Australians are at odds with how they spend their money, according to new research by Finder.
Straight-up advice on your biggest financial dilemmas and money confessions - when you're not sure of your next step, our experts are!
Bitcoin has broken the US$74,000 mark for the first time.
This discount is absolutely worth it if you regularly shop at Woolies.
You can earn up to 20,000 Velocity Points – here's how.
With inflation finally hitting the top of the Reserve Bank's target band, a rate cut today would be jumping the gun.
Ahead of "the race that stops the nation", the RBA has left the cash rate unchanged in November.