The St Andrews prize

Tuesday 5 September 2000

The University of St Andrews is looking for new and inspiring ideas to help the environment.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from: if you can come up with a practical solution to an environmental problem, you could win $25,000, a medal and the encouragement of government, business and academic institutions. Candidates from all walks of life and from any part of the world are being invited to participate in the 2001 St Andrews Prize, officially launched today (Wednesday 6 September 2000). The St Andrews Prize is an internationally acclaimed annual initiative, co-sponsored by the university and international energy company Conoco.

Previous winners have included a young South African mining engineer who is now developing environmental rehabilitation projects in areas badly affected by early mining technology and two Palestinian academics who aim to turn waste from olive oil production into valuable by-products.

While hundreds of candidates from more than 40 countries have participated in each of the previous Prize events, this year the organisers have decided to simplify the entry process to reach an even broader spread of potential candidates. Apart from a top prize of $25,000, there will be additional awards, each of $5,000, for the runners-up.

“We are looking for entrepreneurs on behalf of the environment – applicants able to champion original and innovative environmental ideas which they can show to be realistic and realisable and which take account of the social and economic implications”, said Sir Crispin Tickell, Convenor of the British Government’s Panel on Sustainable Development, and chairman of the adjudicating panel of Trustees.

Initial outline proposals should be submitted on a single sheet of paper by 6 November. Applicants invited to make more detailed submissions will be asked to expand on their ideas in no more than 2,000 words by 5 February 2001.

A small number of finalists will then be selected to take part in The St Andrews Prize seminar in St Andrews, Scotland, on 10 and 11 May 2001. In addition to presenting their ideas, the candidates will also participate in an important debate on environmental issues along with leading representatives of science, industry and government.

Further information about The St Andrews Prize can be obtained from The St Andrews Prize Office, External Relations, University of St Andrews, 82 North Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9AL, Scotland (Telephone 01334 462161, Fax 01334 462590, E-mail [email protected]) or via The St Andrews Prize website – http://www.thestandrewsprize.com.

ENDS

Issued by Beattie Media on behalf of the University of St Andrews For more information please contact Claire Grainger on 01334 462530, 07730 415 015 or email [email protected] Ref: prize2001/standrews/chg/6september2000

NOTE TO EDITORS

The first St Andrews Prize, in 1999, focused on the urban environment and was won by Daniel Limpitlaw, a 27-year-old lecturer in environmental engineering and geographic systems at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. His submission concerned environmental degradation caused by early mining developments. Since receiving the award he has been able to galvanise support for a community-based environmental rehabilitation project. The project is supported by the mining company Billiton PLC and, if successful, will be implemented across the company’s operations. The joint winners of the 2000 Prize were two Palestinian academics, Prof Hikmat Hilal and Dr Amer El-Hamouz of the An-Najah National University at Nablus on the West Bank. Responding to the theme, ‘making waste work’, they submitted a proposal to turn the waste from olive oil production – a significant problem in Palestine and other Mediterranean areas – into valuable by-products by means of economic and environmentally sensitive processes.

THE TRUSTEES

The panel of Trustees with overall responsibility for policy as well as the selection process comprises: Sir Crispin Tickell (Chairman), Convenor of the British Government’s Panel on Sustainable Development.

Dr Alun Anderson, Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of The New Scientist.

James Currie, Director-General of the Environment Directorate at the European Commission.

Archie W Dunham, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Conoco Inc.

Professor Philip Esler, Vice-Principal and Provost at the University of St Andrews.

Dr David Fisk, Chief Scientist at the UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Professor Susan Greenfield, Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Keith Henry, Group Executive Vice President and Chief Executive of Kvaerner Engineering and Construction plc.

Dr Colin Hicks, Director-General of the British National Space Centre.

Professor Brian Hoskins, Professor of Meteorology at the University of Reading.

Professor Sir John Krebs, Chairman of the Food Standards Agency.

Julia Marton-Lefevre, Executive Director of Leadership for Environment and Development International.

Sara Parkin, Director of Forum for the Future.

Richard Sandbrook, Senior Advisor to the International Institute for Environment and Development (representing HRH The Prince of Wales).

Dr George Watkins, Chairman and Managing Director of Conoco (U.K.) Limited.

ENDS


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