Winners of 2008 Banksia Awards announced

Australia’s environmental champions have been recognised at the Banksia Awards ceremony held at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, with the issue of energy efficiency emerging as a strong direction for future environmental improvements.

Evidence of this trend was seen in the crowning of the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour as the winner of the Origin Gold Banksia Award, the night’s highest accolade, and of Dr Zhengrong Shi, founder of Suntech, as the winner of the Banksia International Award.

WWF’s Earth Hour garnered a huge following earlier this year with its campaign to encourage the Australian public to switch off their lights for an hour, while Suntech is a pioneer of technology advances in solar power generation.

Hosted by celebrity environmentalist Jamie Durie, the environmental community’s night of nights was also a celebration of the Banksia Award’s 20th anniversary. Among the guests were Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett.

Banksia Environmental Foundation executive director, Graz van Egmond, congratulated each of the winners on their forward thinking, environmental insight and practical contributions to the environment.

The Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year Award recognised Rob Adams of the City of Melbourne for his innovative urban sustainability work , while the inaugural Environment Minister’s Young Environmentalist of the Year Award was presented to Larissa Brown, founder of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership.

A $30,000 grant was awarded to Mercedes Benz Environmental Research Award winner, Professor Matthew England of the University of New South Wales, to continue his work into drought and rainfall patterns.

The Awards are judged by Banksia’s panel of independent judges, represented by some of Australia’s most experienced and discerning environmental professionals, with the exception of the Banksia People’s Choice Award, which is voted for by the Australian public from a selected list of finalists.