Awards seek out best green international campaigns

If your organisation’s been spinning an exceptionally effective sustainability campaign overseas in the past year, you could find yourself up for one of the 2009 Green Awards™.

This is the second year award organisers are accepting applications for the “Best Green International Campaign” category. The award recognises the best global examples of companies or organisations communicating sustainability. Entries will be accepted across any media platform or marketing discipline, and can range in scope from a single execution to a campaign rolled out in one or more countries. UK companies can also enter this category for pan-European and international campaigns.

The closing date for entries is 18 September, and entry forms are available online at the Green Awards Website.

Award winners will be announced at a ceremony in central London on 18 November.

The Best Green International Campaign winner will be determined by a judging panel under the chairmanship of Satinder Bindra, director of the division of communications and public information for the United Nations Environment Programme in Kenya. To reflect the ideas behind the Green Awards, judging will take place remotely by video conference where the judges are based around the world.

Campaigns will be judged on their originality and effectiveness in communicating on sustainability and environmental issues and the quality of execution. As part of the RSA’s Environmental Award Accreditation Scheme evidence must also be given of the positive sustainable impact of the campaign in terms of environmental, social and economic benefits. In return, winners of the 2009 awards are automatically eligible to enter the European Business Awards for the Environment, presented by the European Commission.

“The continuing success of the Green Awards, especially the introduction of an International category, underlines how important the whole area of CSR (corporate social responsibility) and environmental engagement has become,” said Dominic Lyle, director general for the European Association of Communications Agencies and a member of the global judging panel. “Initiatives such as the Green Awards play a critical role in promoting the principles of environmental responsibility to a wide commercial audience.”