Screen Reader Mode Icon
Thank you for your interest in applying for the Golden Arrow Award from the National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC). NSAC is a 501(c)(4) non-profit with the mission to collaborate with public and private stakeholders to advance product stewardship and extended producer responsibility. NSAC's vision is that the United States attains a circular economy.

Golden Arrow Award Overview

The National Stewardship Action Council recognizes United States businesses for outstanding leadership, innovation and partnerships driving circularity, defined as an economic system aimed at minimizing waste and making the most of resources. In a circular system resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimized by slowing, closing, and narrowing energy and material loops; this can be achieved through long-lasting design, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling. This regenerative approach is in contrast to the traditional linear economy, which has a 'take, make, dispose' model of production. The Golden Arrow Award recognizes business practices that are innovative and would inspire entire industrial sectors towards a circular model through policy changes, product redesign to reduce toxics and provide other benefits, and outstanding partnerships to expand product take-back and recycling.
 
Examples include:
-A company that demonstrates an innovative product, package or system-approach that removes or reduces toxic or other problematic attributes present in other similar products, that reduces water and energy use in production, and develops partnerships with material collectors and sorters to ensure product will be recycled at end of life;

-A company or group that has excelled at advancing policy changes in a local, state or federal arena to advance circularity in the entire product sector while offering a product that is circular by design;

-A retail business, group of businesses, or chain that has initiated an outstanding Take Back program for one or more product as an additional convenience and service to their customers, and works with the producers of those products in developing safe storage and recovery of EOL products and packages;

-A producer, a group of producers, an industry or trade association, or a stewardship organization that works with public agencies, retailers or other stakeholders to implement successful programs to advance circularity.

Eligibility
Any business entity (division or facility located in the United States), third party stewardship organizations and non‐profits are eligible to apply.

Award Recipient Benefits
- A custom-designed award presented at an awards reception at the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association attended by more than 600 local and state government representatives, state legislators, and industry representatives.
- National media coverage
- Organization’s profile on NSAC's Arrow Awards web page for one year
- Organization’s profile in NSAC's electronic newsletter, distributed to more than 3,500 viewers
- Organization’s video (if submitted) uploaded to NSAC's YouTube Channel
- Use of Arrow Awards medallion on organization’s public relations materials
- Ongoing promotion and support from NSAC
- A link from NSAC's website to award recipient

Question Title

* 1. Please enter information into the fields below:

Question Title

* 2. Please describe the product, process or service in detail that promotes circularity defined as:  A circular economy (often referred to simply as "circularity") is an economic system aimed at minimizing waste and making the most of resources. In a circular system resource input and waste, emission, and energy leakage are minimized by slowing, closing, and narrowing energy and material loops; this can be achieved through long-lasting design, maintenance, repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling. This regenerative approach is in contrast to the traditional linear economy, which has a 'take, make, dispose' model of production.

Question Title

* 3. How does the product, process, or service demonstrate the principles of product stewardship, and circularity leadership in your industry? (For example: green design such as durability, reusability and repairability, product take-back, , recycling, and/or compostability, improves customer convenience for take-back, etc.)

Question Title

* 4. Is this an industry-changing product, process or service? Is it a model for others? Please explain.

Question Title

* 5. Does the product, process or service have significant immediate- or long-term benefits to the environment, economy, or public health? Please explain.

Question Title

* 6. Please quantify the benefits described in Question 5.

Question Title

* 7. How does the product, process or service reduce use of toxics, reduce waste in production and end of life, provide a safer alternative or improve durability, reusability, repairability, or recyclability?

Question Title

* 8. Does the product, process, or service create gren jobs In the United States? Please quantify the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions created and the physical location of all facilities where positions are located:

Question Title

* 9. Does the product, process or service demonstrate a collaborative partnership between producers, distributors, retailers, public agencies or other stakeholders that results in a solution to end-of-life issues for products? If yes, please explain.

Question Title

* 10. If applicable, please describe how your take-back program provides convenience and service to customers by providing product-take back for toxic or problematic products. If applicable, explain how your organization has worked with producers and distributors, of those products, to develop safe storage and recovery of products and packages.

0 of 10 answered
 

T