Nairobi – Nominations are now open for the 2012 Champions of the Earth – the United Nations’ flagship environment award that recognizes outstanding visionaries and leaders in the fields of policy, science, entrepreneurship and civil society action.
Next year’s award ceremony comes in the run up to Rio+20 or two decades after the Rio Earth Summit of 1992 that established treaties on biodiversity, climate change and land desertification, and set the course for contemporary sustainable development. It also comes 40 years after the Stockholm Conference that established the UN Environment Program (UNEP).
The prize, which is organized by UNEP, seeks to honor men and women whose actions and leadership have made a positive impact on the environment. Whether by helping to improve the management of natural resources, demonstrating new ways to tackle climate change or raising awareness of emerging environmental challenges, the Champions of the Earth should serve as an inspiration for transformative action across the world.
The 2012 Champions of the Earth Awards will be especially interested in candidates whose achievements can be significantly linked to the outcomes of Stockholm in 1972 and Rio in 1992. Nominations of individuals and organizations providing leadership and creative contributions towards Rio+20 – under its twin themes of a Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and an institutional framework for sustainable development – will also be keenly considered. A laureate will be selected for each of the following categories: Policy, Leadership, Science and Innovation, Entrepreneurial Vision, and Inspiration and Action.
“The UNEP Champions of the Earth are pioneers and leaders in the fields of environmental sustainability with proven track records in advocacy and actions that are catalyzing a transition to a low carbon, more resource efficient future,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, “Next year in Brazil, governments will meet to evolve sustainable development under the themes of the Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and an institutional framework for sustainable development. The experiences, insights and practical achievements of UNEP’s Champions of the Earth can illuminate many of the transformational pathways that can make Rio+20 the success it needs to be.”
LG, corporate partner for the UNEP Champions of the Earth Award since 2010, reaffirmed the importance of celebrating role models who work to better the environment. “LG has been actively pursuing new environmental and energy-related initiatives not only because they’re good growth areas for LG, but because it’s the right thing to do,” said Young-kee Kim, Chief Relations Officer of LG Electronics, “LG believes that the Champions of the Earth Award program can be the foundation to develop new environmental leaders among global citizens, to help make the world a better place for all.”
The 2011 laureates, who were honored at a high-level Award Ceremony in New York in May, included:
- Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Policy Leadership category, for his commitment to lead international efforts to combat climate change;
- Russian scientist Dr. Olga Speranskaya, Science & Innovation category, for successfully mobilizing civil society in eliminating obsolete pesticides and toxic chemicals in the former Soviet region;
- BROAD Group‘s CEO, Zhang Yue, Entrepreneurial Vision category, for his business leadership on energy efficiency and sustainable production;
- Switzerland’s Louis Palmer and Benin’s Angélique Kidjo, Inspiration & Action category co-winners, for raising global awareness of the need for renewable energy and sustainable transport, and for advocating social equity and women empowerment in support of sustainable development, respectively.
Source: UNEP.
