St. Andrews 2003 Prize for the Environment opens for entry

The Prize, which primarily seeks to find practical and sustainable solutions to environmental problems, is a joint venture between St. Andrews University, Scotland, and energy company Conoco.

“It is crucial that we improve links between our academic institutions, industry and wider society,” said Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning in the Scottish Parliament. “The St. Andrews Prize provides a concrete example of the way in which new ideas can change our lives for the better,” he added.

Entrants for the 2003 Prize are asked to use the August World Summit on Sustainable Development as a backdrop for their ideas. The Summit, to be held in Johannesburg, will focus on issues like globalisation, new models of development, and reasons for and consequences of poverty.

“Through the St. Andrew’s Prize we have received varied entries from around the world that provide original and sustainable solutions to today’s environmental challenges,” commented Archie Dunham, Chairman of Conoco.

The 2002 Prize went to a Philippines who devised an initiative to persuade one million rice farmers in Vietnam to stop spraying harmful pesticides. Other winners have included a South African proposal to reverse environmental degradation caused by mining developments, and Palestinian ideas to turn olive oil waste into a useful by-product.

“Creating a sustainable future is a necessity, not an option,” said Dunham.

First draft entries, to be submitted on a single sheet, are required by 30 October 2002. The winner will receive $30,000 prize money.