2013 UNAA World Environment Day Awards winners announced

The winners of the 2013 World Environment Awards were announced at the awards presentation dinner held last week in Melbourne.

The awards - held to mark World Environment Day on 5 June - recognise excellence in sustainable innovation. Winning programs ranged from preserving the natural habitat to limiting food waste, building bridges between architecture and the environment and encouraging young people to take charge of their surroundings.

The prestigious Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year Award went to Don Henry, CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation. Henry spent much of 2012 and 2013 in South Australia advocating for a strong Murray-Darling Basin Plan and in Tasmania working to establish the Tasmanian Forest Agreement with industry, government, unions and environment groups.

Lucy Manne and Kirsty Albion from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) - one of Australia’s largest youth-run organisations - were the Prime Minister’s Young Environmentalists winners. From 13-15 July, the AYCC will host the youth climate summit Power Shift 2013 in Melbourne.

LED lighting company Brightgreen won the Swinburne University of Sustainable Product Design Award for the DR700 LED replacement bulb, which matches the brightness of an average 50 W halogen on just 10.5 W and lasts up to 70,000 h, or 30 years, with standard household use. A single bulb will save 2765 kWh of energy over the course of its life and prevent 2.6 tonnes of carbon emissions.

The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Sustainability Leadership Awards for Small and Medium Organisations went to joint winners Life Without Barriers and Sydney Markets. Life Without Barriers has launched a strategy to reduce its carbon footprint, while Sydney Markets has a range of environmental and sustainability initiatives, particularly surrounding its handling of waste.

Kempsey Bypass Alliance (made up of Roads and Maritime Services, Leighton Contractors, AECOM and Coffey Geotechnics) took out the Award for Large Organisations. The alliance has built a 14.5 km four-lane divided highway with bypasses of Kempsey and Frederickton, including a 3.2 km bridge crossing the Macleay River and floodplain - the longest in Australia.

OzHarvest, the winner of the Virgin Australia Community Award, has successfully implemented a program based on the concept of rescuing excess food from going to landfill. This echoes 2013’s World Environment Day theme of food waste and sustainable consumption.

Sarah Clarke, winner of the Media Award for Environmental Reporting, broke fresh ground by taking the politics out of climate change talks and diversifying the conversation. Using on-the-spot reports about how different aspects of our environment and livelihoods are being affected by climate change, she linked these with scientific reports and what scientists can tell us about the prospects for the future.

Other winners include:

• Business Awards
  Best Specific Environmental Initiative - Synergetics Environmental Engineering, Positive Energy Places
  Excellence in Overall Environmental Management - Australian Ecosystems, Brendan Condon
• Biodiversity Award
  Condamine Alliance, The Fish Are Back
• Environmental School Award
  Bentleigh West Primary School, Locals Creating Wildlife Passages
• Excellence in Sustainable Water Management Award
  Cameron’s Nursery, Reduce, Recycle, Reuse Water Saving Project
• Green Building Award
  Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp, Commonwealth Bank & Lend Lease, Darling Quarter, Commonwealth Bank Place
• Local Government Awards
  Best Specific Environmental Initiative: City of Melbourne - Urban Landscapes: Climate Change Adaptation
  Excellence in Overall Environmental Management - City of Yarra, Yarra Environment Strategy 2008-2012: From Good to Great
• Sustainability Education Award
  Meat & Livestock Australia, Target 100