Each year, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade is proud to celebrate and recognize business excellence in the Greater Vancouver region through the Business Distinction Awards. This initiative, supported by members of the Scale-up Centre for SMEs Advisory Committee, recognizes small and medium sized businesses that have gone above and beyond to set themselves apart in a variety of areas including sustainability, growth, leadership and more.

Nominations are collected in the spring and reviewed by the Scale-up Centre for SMEs Advisory Committee, comprised of GVBOT members from a myriad of sectors and industries, representing the diversity of the Greater Vancouver business community. The shortlisted nominees are announced in June and invited to participate in the creation of a special highlight video. An expert panel of business leaders and GVBOT members will make the final selections in each category and the winners will be revealed at an awards event in the fall.

The Business Distinction Awards are open to members and non-members to showcase the depth, talent and leadership of our community’s vibrant business community. Submit a nomination today!

Winners and Finalists:

2024

2023

2022

2025 Award Categories:

Non-profit of the Year: This award recognizes a non-profit organization with charitable status that has demonstrated excellence in achieving its goals, volunteer engagement, stakeholder engagement and a plan for long-term sustainable growth.
Employer of the Year: This award recognizes a business that has invested in leading practices in the last 12-18 months that contribute to an overall positive workplace culture.
Outstanding New Venture: The Outstanding New Venture Award recognizes excellence in entrepreneurship by highlighting an outstanding new business launched within the last three years.
Business Growth: Operating 3+ Years: This award recognizes excellence in entrepreneurship by highlighting a business innovation, expansion, or diversification achieved by an organization established before 2022.
Environmental Impact: This award recognizes a business for its positive contributions to environmental sustainability and conservation efforts through a recently introduced or reimagined product or service.
Unique-to-Vancouver: This award celebrates and showcases the outstanding contributions of businesses that enrich the cultural fabric of the region, promote diversity and inclusion, and contribute to its overall vibrancy and livability.

Eligibility Criteria:

Nominee’s head office must be located in Greater Vancouver
Nominee must be a small or medium business with no more than 250 employees, the majority of whom are in B.C.
Nominations can be submitted for more than one category but nominees are limited to being a finalist or winner in one category only.
Nominees may not win in the same category in consecutive years

Nomination Deadline: 5:00 p.m. on Monday May 5, 2025 Extended to Monday May 12, 2025

Shortlisted nominees will be notified in June. The celebration event date and location will be announced sometime in the summer.

NOMINATION FORM

Nominee Information

Company Name *

Head Office Address *

City *

Postal Code *

First Name *

Last Name *

Professional Title *

Email *

Phone *

Extension

In 2 to 3 sentences, please provide a description of the nominated business e.g elevator pitch *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Non-profit of the Year

This award recognizes a non-profit organization that has made extraordinary social, cultural or economic impact on the community in the last 12-18 months.

Describe the goals and outcomes your non-profit set out to achieve in the most recent financial year. Were they achieved and what was the impact? *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Describe how your organization effectively engages staff and volunteers. What strategies, programs, culture, and professional development processes and practices do you have in place to ensure high retention? *

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Describe how your organization collaborates and engages with the community. How do you mobilize volunteers, donors, and other stakeholders to support your objectives? What are some partnerships that have been effective in maximizing impact? *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Describe your organization’s long-term vision and impact and how will you build capacity and fundraise to ensure continued success and impact into the future. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Employer of the Year

This award recognizes a business that has invested in leading practices in the last 12-18 months that contribute to an overall positive workplace culture.

Describe practices implemented recently to improve employee happiness and well-being and overall workplace culture. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Describe your recruitment, retention, and talent development processes and how they have been successful. *

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Describe your employee wellbeing and inclusion programs and how they have benefitted your employees. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Please submit verifiable data which may include but isn’t limited to: *

Summary of employee engagement survey results.
Press releases or media acknowledgments.
Testimonial(s) from employees.
Partner or client testimonial(s) .

Only one PDF document that is no more than 10 pages and 10MB. If you have difficulty attaching your documents, please email them to programs@boardoftrade.com

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Outstanding New Venture

The New Venture Award recognizes excellence in entrepreneurship by highlighting an outstanding new business launched within the last three years.

Describe the problem in the market you are trying to solve and how your solution addresses it. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Describe the features or attributes of your product or service that set it apart from existing offerings. What specific innovations or advancements led to making this a fit for the market? *

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Describe your customer satisfaction and loyalty, and the strategies and tactics that led to customer acquisition and market share *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Demonstrate the financial viability of your business’s offerings. Anything shared will be confidential. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Please attach any relevant documents at the end of this form or if you prefer you can email them to Rosine Hage-Moussa, Dir of Events, Programs & EDI Initiatives at rhagemoussa@boardoftrade.com.

Business Growth: Operating 3+ Years

This award recognizes excellence in entrepreneurship by highlighting a business innovation, expansion, or diversification achieved by an organization established before 2021.

Describe the growth of your organization in the past 12 months and the innovation, expansion or diversification of your product or service that led to this growth. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Describe any challenges posed by the recent growth and how the company’s leadership addressed them. *

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Describe your approach to customer satisfaction and loyalty and outline the strategies or tactics that have positively impacted customer acquisition and market share. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Demonstrate the financial viability of your business’s offerings. Anything shared will be confidential. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Please attach any relevant documents at the end of this form or if you prefer you can email them to Rosine Hage-Moussa, Dir of Events, Programs & EDI Initiatives at rhagemoussa@boardoftrade.com.

Environmental Impact

This award recognizes a business for its positive contributions to environmental sustainability and conservation efforts through a recently introduced or reimagined product or service.

Describe how your product or service addresses an environmental issue. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

What is the measurable impact of your product or service on any/all of the following in the last 12-18 months: *

Resource conservation and efficiency
Carbon footprint reduction
Pollution prevention and waste reduction
Other?

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Describe the long-term vision for your product or service to make an increasingly positive impact on the environment. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Unique-to-Vancouver

This new award celebrates and showcases the outstanding contributions of businesses that enrich the cultural fabric of the region, promote diversity and inclusion, and contribute to its overall vibrancy and livability.

Describe your business’ tangible contributions to the Greater Vancouver region and initiatives that foster community engagement and cohesion. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Describe how your business is unique and innovative in its offerings of products or services that differentiate it from competitors while contributing to the city’s social development. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Describe your business’ commitment and long-term vision for ongoing enhancement of our region’s cultural landscape, ensuring arts, culture, diversity and inclusion remain integral to our regions' identity and future prosperity. *

0 (Max. 2000 Characters)

Nominator Information

First Name *

Professional Title *

Last Name *

Company *

Address *

City *

Postal Code *

Phone *

Extension

Email *

I would like my nomination to remain anonymous: *

If you select “yes” we will not inform your nominee of your nomination.

Supporting Documents

Only one PDF document that is no more than 10 pages and 10MB. If you have difficulty attaching your documents, please email them to programs@boardoftrade.com

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Confirmation *

By checking this box, I confirm that the nomination I am submitting is accurate and reflective of the nominee for the 2025 Business Distinction Awards.