Ilum-a-Lite founder Mark Rutherford named Regional Nominee in the 2011 Ernst & Young Awards

Ilum-a-Lite Managing Director Mark Rutherford has been named a Regional Nominee in the 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards.  

Mr Rutherford will join his fellow nominees representing NSW and the ACT on 23 June 2011 in Sydney where regional category winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony.  

Ilum-a-Lite is a Baulkham Hills-based energy saving solutions specialist established in 1996 by Mark Rutherford, a pioneer in the environmental management industry. Ilum-a-Lite offers a wide range of energy-efficient fluorescent lighting products.  

One among a few companies offering energy-saving products in an unreceptive market, Mr Rutherford overcame the challenges by educating businesses about the environmental and financial advantages of reducing energy use.  

According to Mr Rutherford, customers were interested in green solutions that were not only economically viable but financially beneficial, making the company focus on ROI and payback period. This strategy paid off with the company gaining the confidence of global brands such as McDonalds UK, Beijing Airport, Peugeot and Citroën.  

Specialising in promoting power saving technologies, Ilum-a-Lite’s innovative products including Save it Easy, Motor eControl and Light EcoZone have been responsible for reducing the world’s carbon emissions by the equivalent of three 600 mW coal power stations.  

In the last one year, Ilum-a-Lite energy saving products have been able to save 10,000 tonnes of CO2 and $1,000,000 in electricity costs for new customers including government, banks, property investors, hospitals, councils, universities and businesses across the country.  

Ilum-a-Lite has also contributed to worldwide energy efficiency with export sales of their power saving solutions to Asia, Europe, South Africa and New Zealand.  

In addition to partnering with specialist venture capital investor, Cleantech Ventures to enter new markets, Ilum-a-Lite is also focusing on the local market by offering a cash rebate of up to 50% to its NSW customers when they invest in Light Eco Plus, Save it Easy and Light Eco fittings under the NSW Government’s Energy Savings Scheme.