This event was sponsored by the East Border Region INTERREG IIIA Partnership, Environment & Heritage Service Northern Ireland, the Environment Protection Agency Ireland and Invest NI.  The Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment was an associated sponsor of the event.  firmus energy sponsored the Fair Trade tea and coffee provided throughout the day.

To conclude the day's event, there was an environmental award ceremony hosted by Brian Black and Duncan Stewart for businesses on board the STEM Project. There was also a category for businesses outside the STEM Project who were rewarded for their "Contribution to Creating a Sustainable Future".

This was undoubtedly the award which presented the most difficulty to the judging panel. All the entries were of an extremely high standard and from a very broad range of organisations in both the public and private sectors. The winner was GPS Colour Graphics Ltd.

GPS Colour Graphics Ltd was the first in their sector in Ireland to achieve 'carbon neutral' status as assessed by the Carbon Neutral Company which works with the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management.

GPS Colour Graphics Ltd has taken this initiative further by enabling customers to make their publications carbon neutral. This involves calculating the emissions involved in the manufacturing and shipping of the paper (the printing process is carbon neutral) and managing the process of offsetting these emissions.

This prestigious event was organised by the EU funded Project STEM (Sustainable Together through Environmental Management). The STEM Project is funded by INTERREG IIIA for Ireland/Northern Ireland, the Southern Group Environmental Health Committee and nine cross border councils (Ards, Armagh, Craigavon, Banbridge, Dungannon & South Tyrone, Newry & Mourne, Down, Louth and Monaghan). The project is co-ordinated by East Border Region Environmental Working Group.