Ashden Award
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy are annual awards given by a charity of the same name that is based in London. They reward local sustainable energy projects in the UK and developing countries that protect the environment, and improve quality of life.
Sarah Butler-Sloss created the awards in 2001, from the Ashden Trust, one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts.[1]
Contents |
[edit] About the Ashden Awards
The Ashden Awards rewards and promotes local sustainable energy solutions in the UK and the developing world. Through the awards, they aim to raise awareness of the huge potential of local sustainable energy to both tackle climate change and improve the quality of people's lives.
To help their winners, the Ashden Awards gives cash prizes, presented at an Awards ceremony in London every June.
[edit] The UK Awards
In 2009, the Ashden Awards will be giving awards for the UK in the following categories[2]:
- Energy business
- Local Authority
- Charity
There are three first prizes of £30,000 each, and three second prizes of £15,000 each.
[edit] Energy Business Award
This award is for businesses which have made local renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services more accessible. The focus is on enterprises which have opened up new opportunities. The 2009 winners were Geothermal International and Architype.
[edit] Local Authority Award
This award is for Local Authorities which have undertaken effective initiatives and programmes to improve energy efficiency and/or increase the supply of local renewable energy (heat and electricity), and also promoted the wider use of sustainable energy through local planning and policies. The 2009 winners were Kirklees Council and Devon County Council.
[edit] Charity Award
This award is for not-for-profit groups such as Energy Agencies and charities, which have carried out projects or programmes to reduce energy demand and/or increase the supply of renewable energy (heat and electricity), at a local level. The 2009 winners were Sustainable Energy Academy and Marches Energy Agency.
[edit] The UK Schools Award
This Award is open to any UK school, providing education for pupils aged between 5 and 16, which has developed both an ethos and practice of sustainability, in which the responsible use of energy is a key component. The Award carries a first prize of £15,000 and two second prizes of £7,500[3].
The 2009 winners were Ashley Primary School, Walton-on-Thames and Currie Community High School, Edinburgh.
[edit] The International Awards
In 2009 there will be up to seven International awards of £20,000 each, and one Ashden Energy Champion Award of £40,000 for the work which most impresses the judging panel.[4]
Awards are given for the service to communities provided by the use of sustainable energy, rather than for the technology used. In 2009, awards will highlight the particular achievements of each winner, rather than be offered in specific categories, with the main areas of interest being:
- Food security
- Health, education and welfare
- Light and power for homes and businesses
- Enterprise
Food security Renewable energy can be used in any part of the food supply chain, from growing, processing, storage and cooking, through to marketing and distribution.
Health, education and welfare Renewable energy can be used directly in healthcare facilities and schools (including providing light, refrigeration, sterilisation and communications), and provide light for study at home. It can also bring improvements to health in homes or schools (including reducing smoke from stoves, and improving sanitation).
Light and power for homes and businesses Renewable electricity can power clean, efficient portable lamps or fixed lighting for homes or community buildings both in areas which are not connected to grid power, and also where mains electricity is unreliable or unaffordable. Small scale renewable electricity can also enable businesses and social services to develop.
Enterprise Businesses can play an important role in delivering renewable energy and encouraging its rapid spread.
[edit] The Awards Ceremony
The Ashden Awards hold an awards ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in London in June, where the finalists present their achievements and receive their awards before an invited audience of politicians, business leaders, and key figures from the environment, development and energy worlds[5].
Previous hosts include broadcasters Anna Ford[6], John Humphrys[7] and Jonathan Dimbleby[8] and environmental journalist Mark Lynas.
Guest speakers over the last three years include Prince Charles, Sir David King, Wangari Maathai[9], Al Gore, David Attenborough, Hilary Benn, the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Dr RK Pachauri, Chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party and Lord May of Oxford, former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government.
After presenting the prizes at the 2007 ceremony Al Gore commented[10]:
"No one can attend an event like the Ashden Awards and fail to be inspired. We must find a path from an unsustainable present to a sustainable future. What impresses me most about these projects is they truly are becoming the change that is needed in the world. These Awards tell us how to illuminate this path to a sustainable future together. I hope that we can make it quickly."
[edit] Ashden Awards seminars and conferences
The Ashden Awards also holds specialist seminars and conferences bringing together Award winners with practitioners, academics, and those who make or influence policy. Examples of recent seminars include one held at Imperial College[11] and another held at DFID[12].
[edit] List of winners
The Ashden Awards have been presented to a number of organisations, including NGOs, businesses, local governments and schools.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ SFCT. "The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts". http://www.sfct.org.uk/trusts.html. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ^ Ashden Awards. "UK Applications". http://www.ashdenawards.org/apply. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Ashden Awards. "UK schools applications". http://www.ashdenawards.org/school_award. Retrieved 2008-11-13.[dead link]
- ^ Ashden Awards. "International applications". http://www.ashdenawards.org/int_awards. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ The Independent, UK (2007-06-28). "Julia Stephenson: The Green Goddess". London. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/julia-stephenson-the-green-goddess-455042.html. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ GVEP International. "GVEP International supports the Ashden Awards Week for 2008 Winners". http://www.gvepinternational.org/gvep_international_supports_the_ashden_awards_week_for_2008_winners_. Retrieved 2008-11-13.[dead link]
- ^ Helps International. "ONIL Stove Receives International Recognition". http://www.helpsinternational.com/news/news.php?news_ID=5. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management. "KIST wins international award again". http://www.kist.ac.rw/win.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-13.[dead link]
- ^ The Independent, UK (2008-06-23). "My Week In Media: Wangari Maathai". London. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/my-week-in-media-wangari-maathai-852560.html. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Developments Magazine. "Green pioneers rewarded". http://www.developments.org.uk/articles/green-pioneers-rewarded/. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Imperial College, London. "Ashden Awards Technical Seminar". http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/eventssummary/event_5-6-2008-8-53-38?eventid=37934. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Alliance Magazine. "Interview - Sarah Butler-Sloss". http://www.alliancemagazine.org/node/1122. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
