Fernwood, Miss. — Modern Mill, manufacturer of wood substitute ACRE, was honored at Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards and won the overall Best Mid-Sized Business Award plus five other nominations.
The awards honor clean technology, innovative corporate initiatives, brave new designs for cities and buildings, and other creative works that are supporting the growth of positive social innovation, tackling social inequality, climate change, and public health crises.
Modern Mill and its product ACRE also garnered finalist nominations in the categories General Excellence, Architecture, Consumer Products and North America as well as an honorable mention in the Climate category.
ACRE is a new building material made from upcycled rice hulls in a zero-waste environment, designed to offer the warmth and beauty of real wood with all the conveniences of traditional composites. ACRE is available as trim boards, dimensional lumber, sheet goods, decking, and siding.
“We are thrilled and honored to be recognized in so many different categories,” says Kim Guimond, chief marketing officer at Modern Mill. “It shows that ACRE truly is a product that can change the building industry for the better, stem deforestation and grow a socially responsible, sustainable business here in the U.S.”
Now in its sixth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 39 winners, 350 finalists, and more than 600 honorable mentions—with climate, social justice, and AI and data among the most popular categories. A panel of Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 2,997 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, health, social justice, and more. In addition, several new categories have been added this year including climate, nature, water, and workplace. The 2022 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Australia.
