Entries invited for the St Andrews Prize for the Environment 2012
13 September 2011
The University of St Andrews and international energy company ConocoPhillips have invited entries for the St Andrews Prize for the Environment 2012. Applications will be welcomed from individuals, multi-disciplinary teams or community groups for the 2012 annual prize, which has been increased to $100,000 for the winner and $25,000 for each of the two runners-up.
The primary objective of the prize is to find innovative solutions to environmental challenges. The solutions should be practical, combining good science, economic reality and political acceptability. The prize offers people from all backgrounds around the world the chance to help transform their environmental ideas into reality and also provides a network of connections and support.
An innovative cookstove, which provides improved air quality and a clean economic source of electricity inside the home, won the St Andrews Prize for the Environment in 2011. Clean energy company BioLite developed a cookstove that slashes emissions by up to 95 percent and also provides electricity for charging LED lights, mobile phones and other devices used in rural areas where open fires are prevalent. The funding from the prize will help them to further develop their programme by funding capital costs, hardware and administration expenses.
The prize is an environmental initiative by the University of St Andrews in Scotland and the international energy company ConocoPhillips. Recognising significant contributions to environmental conservation since its launch in 1998, the prize has attracted more than 2,500 entries from all over the world on topics as diverse as sustainable development in the Amazon rainforest, urban re-generation, recycling, health and water issues, and renewable energy. The submissions for the prize are assessed by eminent trustees from science, industry, and government.
Anyone wishing to enter the 2012 prize should submit a single page project summary of no more than 500 words by 31 October 2011. The shortlisted entries will be invited for a more substantial submission in January 2012 and the winners will be announced at a seminar at the University of St Andrews in May 2012.
Full details about the Prize, and how to enter are available here or from the St Andrews Prize for the Environment office at St Andrews University on Tel + 44 (0)1334 462161. Email entries to: prize@st-andrews.ac.uk. The St Andrews Prize for the Environment can also be found on Facebook.