WESTFIELD – Valley Green Shredding of Westfield was recently named a finalist for the 2015 Western Mass. Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics by the Better Business Bureau of Central New England.
Torch Awards are presented to businesses that epitomize corporate responsibility and strive to ensure that the marketplace remains fair and honorable.
Other finalists included: Adam Quenneville Roofing, Siding & Windows, South Hadley; American Pest Solutions, Springfield; American Rug Company, Holyoke; Butler Carpet Cleaners, Ludlow; Freedom Credit Union, Springfield; LashCo Tree Service, South Hadley; Northeast I.T., West Springfield, and Paragus Strategic I.T., Hadley.
“Every year we present these awards as a way to highlight that good ethics are good for business,” said Nancy B. Cahalen, president and CEO of BBB of Central New England. “We select businesses that have done an excellent job with corporate responsibility and are always doing what’s right for their customers.”
Owned by Heather and Eric Wartel, Valley Green Shredding is a woman-owned and veteran owned, on-site document shredding and hard-drive destruction company that moved to Westfield from South Deerfield in January of 2014.
In addition to providing information security, 100 percent of the shredded documents are recycled.
“Nothing is left for the landfill,” co-owner Eric Wartel said.
The company also gives back to the community through charitable shredding events that raise money for the charity or non-profit that hosts them.
Wartel said that the company participated in 18 events for charity this past year, and expects to double that number by next spring with the addition of a second truck which houses the shredding equipment.
Wartel said the events are strictly a charitable piece of the business.
“We donate services,” he said. “It’s nice to have a nomination for the business ethics side of it, to have that recognition that we’re doing the right thing.”
Western MA Torch Award finalists are selected from hundreds of nominations following a rigorous judging process. All entries are evaluated by an independent panel of judges based on: commitment to their customers, commitment to their employees, reputation in the business industry and commitment to the communities they do business in.
“The judges always have difficult decisions to make when narrowing down the list of the outstanding entries to a few finalists,” Cahalen said. Of the nine finalists, three awards will be given in three different categories.
The 2015 Western MA Torch Award winners will be announced at a ceremony to take place on April 29 at the Castle of Knights in Chicopee.
Advanced tickets are $20 and may be purchased by calling 508-552-0366.
