The Environmental Business Council of New England announces the winners of the second annual "Best Places to Work" challenge. The participant companies were ranked in five categories: * Entrepreneurial-size (5-20 employees), * Small-size (21-50 employees), * Medium-size (51-100 employees), * Large-size (101-250 employees), and * Most environmentally conscious company. The winners were chosen based on data gathered by the EBC through member company personalized surveys, which all employees from each company were invited to complete. Winners were chosen in each of the five categories and announced at the EBC Annual Meeting on September 19th. The winner in the entrepreneurial company category was BlueWave Strategies, LLC of Boston, a company dedicated to executing and crafting environmentally sound real-estate policies and development projects, while increasing profitability and sustainability for both the developers and communities. Capaccio Environmental Engineering, Inc., of Marlborough, was named the winner in the small size company category. Capaccio Environmental Engineering is known for their commitment to consulting companies in all of their environmental, health and safety management needs; allowing clients to meet regulatory requirements and provide safe working environments for their employees. For the second year, Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. of Boston claimed the top prize for a medium size company. Geosyntec scientists, engineers and various business innovators work with technology-driven business sectors to provide assessment and consulting throughout various phases of site development, design, restoration and clean-up. Their scientific and regulatory knowledge allows their clients to proceed with projects in an environmentally safe manner. Triumvirate Environmental of Somerville was declared the winner for a second year in the large company category. Triumvirate specializes in hazardous waste management services for top clients in the healthcare, life science, education and industrial sectors. With experts in field services and consulting, Triumvirate has the ability to provide clients, not only with hands on service, but also with the tools and knowledge necessary to navigate through various regulations in order to maintain environmentally sound institutions and businesses. The award for most environmentally conscious company went to Mackie Shea O'Brien PC of Boston, for a second year. This environmental law firm provides experienced counsel in areas such as land use law and related litigation. Practice areas include renewable energy, water, real estate, hazardous waste and many more. Their dedication to community and providing clients with knowledge in regulatory compliance, allows this firm to thrive in the environmental sector. Not only did the winning companies receive recognition through various EBC publications, each was also given the EBC 2008 "Best Places to Work" stamp of approval logo which can be used by these companies on their websites and marketing materials. With this outstanding award, the companies will have the opportunity to take pride in their environmentally friendly business practices and endeavors while also attracting future employees. The surveys, created by the Environmental Business Council, provided insight into overall attitudes surrounding the various work environments of the companies that participated. Employees gave valuable information regarding their own performance, whether or not they feel valued in their job, improvements their company could make and what their company does well. The top five areas that employees felt their company did well in were: flexibility, growth and training, communication, recognition of employee's hard work, and hiring top notch employees. The survey highlighted the top six areas that needed improvement in companies overall: compensation and benefits, mentoring, improved meeting environments, a telecommuting option, a need to hire more staff, and improved technology. When deciding to remain with a company or organization and continue to perform at their best, employees surveyed indicated the following top five reasons: *Feeling valued, *Alignment with goals of company, *Co-worker trust, *Work engagement and *Effective team environment. Over the past two years feeling valued has been a top priority and motivator for employees. Even when asked if monetary compensation or benefits would take precedent over feeling valued it was determined that feeling valued remained the top priority. The Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) was conceived in 1990 by environmental and energy company executives who began meeting on a regular basis to exchange ideas and share experiences. The EBC was the first organization in the United States established to support and foster the development of the environmental industry. The goal of the EBC is to enhance business and job growth of both established and emerging environmental and energy businesses. For more information, please contact Danielle Pillion at events@ebcne.org