More than 100 nominating partners spanning every corner of the Earth and seven continents have begun the search for the first winners of The Earthshot Prize – the most prestigious environment prize in history launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in October.
Partners are now invited to submit nominations of those individuals, communities, businesses and organisations whose solutions make the most progress towards achieving the five Earthshots – simple but ambitious goals which if achieved by 2030 will improve life for us all, for generations to come.
Launched on 8th October by Prince William and a global coalition of individuals, businesses and organisations, The Earthshot Prize aims to find new solutions to the world’s biggest environmental problems.
The launch of the Prize comes after two years of work by Prince William and The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to develop a project which will support the global effort to protect and restore the environment.
Every year from 2021 until 2030, Prince William, alongside The Earthshot Prize Council, will award The Earthshot Prize to five winners, one per Earthshot. Together, the five Earthshots, – ‘Protect and restore nature’, ‘Clean our air’, ‘Revive our oceans’, ‘Build a waste-free world’ and ‘Fix our climate’ – form a unique set of challenges rooted in science, which aim to generate new ways of thinking, as well as new technologies, systems, policies and solutions.
The nominating partners are part of an unprecedented global coalition who are now searching for the visionaries with the ideas, solutions, and leadership to repair the planet in this decisive decade.
Beginning today, the 5-stage prize process to select a winner for each Earthshot is as follows:
- Nominations: Our nominators will seek out solutions from across the globe that will help us reach our Earthshots.
- Screening: Nominations will be screened as part of an independent assessment process run by Deloitte, our implementation partner.
- Shortlist: A distinguished panel of experts will support the judging process, making
recommendations to The Earthshot Prize Council. - Selection: The Earthshot Prize Council will select our five winners.
- Awards: The winners of The Earthshot Prize will be announced at an awards ceremony, which will take place in different cities across the world each year between 2021 and 2030.
For more information, click here.
Cambridgeshire sees arrival of all-electric bin lorry
Refuse collections in South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City are going ‘state-of-the-art green’ as the two Councils covering the area take delivery of their very first all-electric bin lorry.
The lorry is the first all-electric addition to the Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service – a partnership between South Cambridgeshire District and Cambridge City Councils. The Dennis Eagle ‘eCollect’ is now part of the Shared Waste Service’s fleet and being used to collect residents’ recycling.
It marks the start of a drive to replace all the waste service’s collection lorries with electric or hydrogen vehicles as their existing trucks come to the end of their working lives.
The Shared Waste Service is one of the first waste collection services nationally to invest in green vehicles which have zero emissions and contribute to better air quality when out on the road.
The new fully electric Dennis Eagle ‘eCollect’ has five specially designed battery packs generating 300kWh of power and a 200kW electric motor, making it substantially quieter than existing bin collection vehicles. Fully loaded it will weigh around 26 tonnes and will typically take around seven to eight hours to recharge, easily completing a full day of collection rounds and returning to the depot with charge remaining in the battery.
The new vehicle has cost around £400,000 and while this is more than a traditional diesel bin collection lorry, the Councils expect the whole-life cost to be at the very least the same – if not less – than a diesel vehicle due to reduced servicing, fuel and general running costs.
Circular Yorkshire Month is back for 2020
Established by the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Circular Yorkshire campaign celebrates its second anniversary in 2020.
Created to bring together partners and stakeholders from across Yorkshire to accelerate the region’s transformation towards a circular economy, this year during November- Circular Yorkshire Month- the campaign has gained support and momentum to become a Yorkshire-wide initiative.
Throughout Circular Yorkshire Month, the LEP, its Growth Hub and partners will be raising awareness of how circular practices can help businesses prosper by providing a variety of information and guidance. In collaboration with the CBI, FSB and the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, six practical e-guides have been created.
These Circular Economy: 6 Benefits to Business e-guides are easy to understand and highlight simple steps businesses can take to make a difference. There is a short animated film that accompanies the guides and later this year, there will be a follow-up e-book to help businesses continue to adapt and become more sustainable and circular.
In addition to the e-guides, a series of webinar events will run throughout November. Businesses who have already become circular will share their stories, insights and the value their business has gained through this.
An online event on 24th November looks specifically at a number of programmes available in the region to support businesses wanting to reduce their carbon footprint or to adopt circular practices, including ReBiz which offers eligible businesses free consultancy and funding to lower waste costs or reduce energy.
To find out more about this campaign, visit www.circularyorkshiremonth.com .
