The Long Point Biosphere Region (LPBR) has named the Charlotteville Brewing Company the winner of the 2019 Sustainable Tourism Ambassador Award.
Brewery owners Melanie Doerksen and Tim Wilson were presented with the Award by LPWBRF President Rick Levick at the Norfolk County Economic Development Symposium in Simcoe on February 13.
“Melanie, Tim and their staff certainly ‘walk the talk” of sustainable tourism through their company’s core values and actions,” Levick told the symposium audience. He said those values include:
- Utilizing as much repurposed material as possible
- Growing raw ingredients organically and/or purchase organic
- Paying personnel a living wage so they can prosper
- Striving to be as close to zero waste as possible
- Serving artisanal beer and food that is as sustainable as it is delicious
Levick also cited how the company puts its values into practice.
- 60 per cent of ingredients are grown on premises
- 30 per cent of spent grains are used in food products
- 70 per cent of the water used is recycled
The Charlotteville Brewing Company also received Norfolk County’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the symposium based on an entirely separate nomination and selection process, Levick noted.
For the past five years, the LPWBRF has presented this award to local businesses whose operations have achieved sustainable tourism goals by conserving the natural resources of the region and operating in an environmentally friendly way. As ambassadors, award recipients pledge to raise public awareness of how sustainable tourism can be achieved in the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve.
The Charlotteville Brewing Company has won the Long Point Biosphere’s 2019 Sustainable Tourism Ambassador Award. Biosphere President Rick Levick (left) presented the award to brewery owner Melanie Doerksen. staffers Emily Hoey and Mary Benedict and Melanie’s husband, Tim Wilson. (photo courtesy of Norfolk County)
Past recipients of the award include:
- Whistling Gardens in 2014
- Bonnieheath Estate Lavender and Winery in 2015
- Blueberry Hill Estates in 2016
- Long Point Eco Adventures in 2017
- Long Point Island Hugger Tours in 2018