Mayor’s 2022 Bold Steps Award

The Mayor’s Bold Steps Award program recognizes and celebrates local businesses that implement triple bottom line business practices; considering the environment while supporting their community, and providing their employees with economic opportunities, career growth, and work/life balance.

To apply for the award, businesses must first be certified through the BRING Rethink program which provides free, on-site consultations to help businesses reduce waste, promote equity, and save money. After certification, all Eugene based businesses are eligible to nominate themselves to compete for the award.

Each year, the City of Eugene works with a committee of local business leaders and sustainability professionals to evaluate the nominations and select three finalists. The 2022 finalists for the award were Arcimoto, PakTech, and Summit Bank.

Finalist businesses each receive a professionally produced promotional video that highlights their sustainable initiatives as well as print media advertising and promotion by the City of Eugene on social media, digital billboards, and other channels. The Bold Steps Award Winner is then announced by Mayor Lucy Vinis during the annual State of the City Address in early January.

This year’s Bold Steps Winner is Summit Bank, a locally owned business bank that has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Green Businesses by Oregon Business Magazine several years in a row. Giving back to the community is the cornerstone of Summit Bank’s mission. In addition to the other sustainability and conservation actions, Summit Bank recently donated $150,000 to fund micro loans to underserved members of our community, particularly those operating out of low-income areas.

For more information about the award and the Bold Steps program, visit https://www.eugene-or.gov/508/Bold-Steps-Award-Program. Applications for the award are accepted annually between August and September.