INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS 2011 CATEGORIES

Green Leadership (Beyond CSR)

Making real change that goes beyond ‘business as usual’ in your organisation requires real leadership, foresight and collaboration. This award class seeks to recognise truly outstanding organisations or individuals who can demonstrate true innovation, thought leadership and commitment to sustainability values that are integrated throughout the value chain. Through this award, we are aiming to recognise an organisation or individual who has gone beyond traditional thinking or ‘preaching to the converted’. Is your organisation at the cutting edge of change and a beacon that others aspire to follow?

Our prospective winners will have implemented real systemic change, through an initiative that is admired by peers and which other organisations seek to follow. Your organisation will have truly embedded sustainability thinking into its life blood to ensure a fairer legacy for future generations.

• Best Green International Business Award (Large) (BRONZE PARTNER Climate Change The New Economy)

• Best Green International Business Award (Medium)

• Best Green Government Award

• Best Green Entrepreneur Award (or Start-up)

 

Green Investment

Traditional investments are not always sustainable, thus, risk models need to be realigned against a new ethical code of conduct and transparency. This category sets out to recognise the organisation of investment with incorporated sustainability values.

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) are not new disciplines. However, the popularity of the sustainable investment sector is slow on the up take, illustrated by the fact that only a fraction of the money that is invested in traditional investments. The focus now should be to create more sustainable investments and integrate these into mainstream investing. This award will recognise leading financial services industry thinking that has gone beyond traditional investment to make a real difference to shareholder value – offering sustainable and financial returns. The winning company will have showcased how this investment has made a step change and illustrated a new model for others to implement in their sustainable investment portfolio.

 

• Best Sustainable Investment (BRONZE PARTNER Emerald Knight Consultants)

 

Green & Clean Technology

Green technology or clean technology is the application of the environmental science and sustainability knowledge and expertise to conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human activity. Sustainable development should be at the core of environmental technologies. These categories are for innovative breakthroughs in energy and energy efficiencies, specifically for products, services or initiatives that use technology to transform energy and carbon footprint. These categories will be awarded to celebrate real innovation. Entrants will have challenged traditional thinking and will have developed ground-breaking technology that delivers tangible sustainability benefits. We want to see real results that will inspire businesses to make changes in their organisation.

• Best Green Energy Efficiency Initiative Award

• Best Green Technology Award (BRONZE PARTNER Danwood)

 

Cradle-to-Cradle Initiatives

This award is to recognise the best initiative which promotes the 4 R’s – Reduction, Reuse, Recycling , Recovery. A Cradle to Cradle initiative means implementing a holistic economic, industrial and social framework that seeks to create systems that are not just efficient, but essentially waste free. This could be for reductions in packaging or upcycling whereby waste materials or useless products are converted into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. The goal of upcycling is to prevent wasting potentially useful materials by making use of existing ones. Reducing the use of new raw materials can result in a reduction of energy usage, air pollution, water pollution and even greenhouse gas emissions. This category covers all recycling as well as reuse projects, services or initiatives.

• Best Green 4R’s Award (Reduction, Reuse, Recycling, Recovery)

 

Building for the Future

This award is for the best built environment initiative, whether a new build or retrofit project, which works towards a zero carbon target. Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to a structure built using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient, throughout its life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.

New technologies are constantly being developed to complement current practices in creating greener structures, with the objective of reducing the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:
- Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
- Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
- Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation

• Best Green Intelligent Buildings Award

 

Green Game Changer

With the substantial sustainability improvements in the manufacture, use, disposal of products and other impacts, this award is for true innovation. This Award is to recognise initiatives that incorporate a genuine sustainability benefit, whilst meeting consumer needs for products and services. We use the terms “green” and “sustainable” to refer to products, services, and practices whose manufacturing, purchase and use allows for economic development while still conserving resources, for future generations. The product must exhibit sustainability through the entire supply chain, including the marketing and communications for the product and aspire to be a standard others will follow and seek to achieve. As a service, it will provide all the tangible benefits people accept as standard but in a way that lowers the negative impact that may be embodied in providing the service.

• Best Green Product Innovation

• Best Green Service Innovation Award (BRONZE PARTNER The Carbon Trust)

 

 

Big Green Society and Lifelong Learning

These awards aim to recognise initiatives that improve public knowledge, understanding and empower individuals and organisations in society. These awards set out to empower people, recognise grassroots mutualism and civil society involvement in promoting sustainability. The United Nation’s ‘Agenda 21’ was the first international document that identified education as an essential tool for achieving sustainable development and highlighted areas of action for education. Education for Sustainable Development should include:
- Envisioning – being able to imagine a better future
- Critical thinking, reflection and building partnerships – promoting dialogue and negotiation, learning to work together
- Participation in decision-making – empowering people

The concept of ‘Big Society’ is “to create a climate that empowers local people and communities, building a big society that will ‘take power away from politicians and give it to people with a focus on sustainable development’.

• Best Green Educational and Sustainability Awareness Award
• Best Green Employee Engagement Award
• Best Green Not for Profit Organisation

Ecological Consciousness

These awards are for projects that promote ecological consciousness. We know that profitability and growth with minimal resource impact is a must for all businesses to ensure we create a sustainable future. This requires innovation, technology, visionary thinking and entrepreneurs who can challenge traditional business wisdom. We aim to reward a visionary organisation who has changed the way they and others now operate to reduce our ecological footprint.

The first award goes to the best conservation or biodiversity initiative that protects natural habitats or species. The project should accelerate the concept of valuing nature. The second award goes to the most outstanding water stewardship project.

• Best Green Conservation and Biodiversity Award
• Best Green Water Stewardship Award

Inspiring behavioural change through communications

These awards are for projects which inspire change through communications keeping in line with the International Green Awards heritage in recognising best practice in sustainable communications. Whether through creative ideas, events, packaging, personal role models and content, marketing communications enables us to think and act differently. Marketing forms part of the fabric of our lives and whether we like it or not, its reach is unparalleled in society!

Green marketing needs to talk directly to people -not just echo the worn stereotype of the mindless consumer. Individuals can make a difference to a ‘human problem’ – climate change. It should not be a ‘fringe’ issue of interest limited only to environmentalists.

The growth of Social media above traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and film now provides a powerful channel to spread the message about sustainability. Impartial knowledge sharing in the age of transparency is key to allow a transition towards a shared goal of sustainable development.

As an innovative and progressive practice, marketing has the potential to inspire hope. In fact, we believe it has the power to change the face of business for good. This is why marketing must become sustainable: both in spirit and practice.

Effective communication has always been fundamental to the survival of human civilization. Governments have used persuasion to prompt societal change. But now the world is facing an even more uncertain future as scarce resources are exploited and changes in climate will ultimately lead to widespread food poverty, civil unrest and societal breakdown. It’s crucial that society is engaged and that the world re-evaluates its relationship with the natural world as we can’t bank on nature. The world is heading for an ecological credit crunch as human demands on the world’s natural resources reach nearly a third more than the earth can sustain.

• Best Green Advertising & PR Award 

• Best Green Audio-Visual Award

• Best Green Cross Platform Digital Media Solution Award (Best use of Mobile Applications, Social Media and online content Award)

 

Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing

Collaborative thinking and partnerships are the ‘next big thing’ – essential to compete, grow and achieve sustainability excellence. This award goes to recognise creative approaches to sharing information, co-operation, open source innovation and partnerships through new business models or digital media initiative. Collaborative methods are processes, behaviours and conversations that relate to collaboration between individuals. These methods specifically aim to increase the success of teams as they engage in collaborative problem solving.

• Best Green Collaborative Initiative Award

 

Nominated Award by Public Vote

Voted for by you the public this award will showcase leading celebrities that have pushed the boundaries in creating awareness of the effects of climate change and environmental degradation through specific actions and commitments that have influenced a large audience. Celebrities are in the fortunate position to influence a generation because they have the resources, connections and media attention.

• INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS Celebrity

 

Nominated Award by the INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS Steering Group

The Lifetime Achievement Award seeks to recognise an individual whose committed efforts have made a positive and significant contribution to sustainability nationally or internationally. Considering the International Green Awards belief that ‘creativity can inspire change’, this Award will be given to an individual who has effectively propagated sustainability, using creative and innovative methods and ideas. Furthermore, the Lifetime Achievement Award will reward holistic efforts, influencing business, public sector and society. The Award recipient would have demonstrated past accomplishments and forward thinking to advance the notions of sustainability in every possible way.

Last year’s winner was Sir David Attenborough CBE commented ‘The INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS are a genuine effort to promote positive attitudes towards biodiversity and sustainability.’ This year winner will be of a similar high profile nature.

• INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS Lifetime Achievement Award

 

Overall winner of the event nominated by the judges (not open to direct entry)

This award is for our overall winner – best in class across the entire event. The INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS ‘Grand Prix’ is the pinnacle of the Awards, recognition for the crème-de- la- crème of the companies and organizations who have made it through to being winners in their respective categories for their innovative campaigns. The Grand Prix looks for substance over surface: has the campaign/ project/ initiative/ product/ service/ film etc. made a real difference, has it done something to change attitudes and behaviour, rather than presenting just an aesthetically pleasing solution? Have you created an initiative that could land your company the INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS ‘Grand Prix’ this year: thinking out of the box judged by the most influential sustainability experts internationally?

• INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS Grand Prix Winner