Why should I enter?
With apologies to Pat Monahan and Gregg Wattenberg, you have to be in it to win it ... even if you are also in it for other reasons. An A.R.E. Sustainability Award showcases your green retail design. It brings recognition to you and your team for their role, while focusing attention on the sustainable features of the space. A.R.E. Sustainability Awards are covered by sustainable as well as design press, so your team's accomplishments influence a broad range of professionals. Sharing your innovations can help evolve green design. And even if you don't win, your entry supports the greening of the retail built environment, driving retail market adoption of green design.
How is this awards program affiliated with A.R.E. Design Awards?
Both programs are administered by the Association for Retail
Environments. The A.R.E. Sustainability Awards is a subset of A.R.E. Design Awards. However, it uses a separate panel of judges, who score entries against sustainability-focused criteria.
May I enter the same project for a Design Award as well as a Sustainability Award with one entry?
Yes. When entering the project, select Design Award. As you complete the form, you'll be able to add a Sustainability Award submission within the same form. You'll need to complete all the fields for Sustainability as well as the Design fields.
Why do I need to answer separate questions for a Sustainability Award? Can't I just indicate that my project is green?
Sustainability Awards are judged against a separate set of criteria. The questions are directly tied to the judging criteria.
Who judges Sustainability Awards?
The awards are judged by the A.R.E. Sustainability Council, a group of sustainability-minded industry professionals including designers, suppliers, and consultants.
I've heard that most design competitions hinge on the pictures. How detailed do my answers really need to be?
For this competition, the entry forms are extremely important. Judges scrutinize your answers, and they only know what you tell them. If you give the bare minimum of information, you are doing your project a disservice. Judges have remarked that some projects seem like they might be very sustainable, but they were unable to score them highly due to inadequate information. Do your homework. Read the entry preparation tips, obtain details from your team, and take the time to provide complete answers.
So then I shouldn't bother getting nice images?
On the contrary, judges reserve the highest honors for projects that not only have comprehensive sustainability programs, but
balance environmental goals with design aesthetics and functionality. In addition, images such as close-up shots and diagrams can help judges understand specific sustainable features you highlight on your form.
I have a green retail project that doesn't have extensive sustainable
features, but one sustainable feature was particularly innovative.
Should I enter that one?
Yes. In addition to category awards for overall sustainability, judges
look to single out specific features that are worth Special Recognition.
A.R.E. wants to bring attention to innovative features that can help
evolve green retail design.