Nominees for the Nordic Council’s Nature and Environment Prize 2015
The theme of this year’s prize is greenhouse gas emissions. The prize of DKK 350,000 (roughly EUR 47,000) goes to the nominee who has gone to admirable lengths to develop a product, invention, or who has otherwise undertaken creative efforts to contribute to the future reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the Nordic Region.
The Nature and Environment Prize will be awarded at a grand award ceremony during the Nordic Council Session at Reykjavik’s iconic Harpa concert hall on 27 October 2015.
Here are the nominees:
Denmark
GoMore is a service that provides solutions for ride sharing and p2p car rental. Through these initiatives, GoMore is helping to reduce CO2 emissions and the environmental impact of cars, while also reducing traffic on the roads and bringing people together.
Finland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland has been active in the field of the environment since 2001. A key tool in these efforts is the awarding of the church’s environmental diploma, which helps to steer the congregations in a more sustainable direction. The church has also introduced an “eco-fast” at Easter.
PiggyBaggy is a delivery service based on volunteers, also known as a ‘crowdsourced delivery service’, whereby people transport each others’ goods as part of their daily travels. This saves time and money, and reduces environmental impact.
Faroe Islands
Energy firm SEV is the Faroe Islands’ largest energy supplier. By combining wind and hydroelectric power, SEV now supplies 51% of Faroese energy from sustainable sources. In recent years, SEV has made great advances in the production of green energy, and is setting out the objective of supplying 100% of its energy from sustainable sources (wind and hydroelectric) by 2030.
Iceland
Carbon Recycling International is a small Icelandic company specialising in reducing CO2 emissions from fuel use in the transport industry. The firm’s technology has the potential to revolutionise the reduction of pollution by the transport sector by lowering CO2 emissions by up to 100%.
Orkuveita Reykjavikur supplies energy and water to around 67% of Iceland’s population using geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is the main reason why 85% of Iceland’s energy consumption can be described as sustainable. Efforts are now underway to develop methods for depositing CO2 in the bedrock so as to reduce emissions and ensure a greener environment.
Norway
With its 38,000 employees, Norgesgruppen A/S is one of Norway’s largest companies and a leader in the grocery industry. Norgesgruppen has adopted an ambitious climate and environment strategy to ensure that the business approaches the future sustainably. The objectives include switching to biofuels in the transport sector, and making the business self-sufficient through renewable energy.
Sweden
Löfbergs coffee roastery has implemented an extensive sustainability strategy to ensure that every stage in production – from bean to cup – is conducted responsibly. With this purpose in mind, a comprehensive system has been developed to ensure social and environmental sustainability, and to reduce the climatic impact of coffee production.
City Bikes helps to promote the sharing economy concept by hiring out bikes for free. The idea took shape in the 1990s and has since become a staple of major cities such as Stockholm, Gothenburg and Copenhagen. The latest generation bikes can even be hired via a smartphone.
Uppsala klimatprotokoll is a network of businesses, associations and public institutions to inspire climate-oriented business development. The network works to disseminate knowledge to achieve the Municipality of Uppsala’s long-term climate and energy targets.
Åland
Sixten Sjöblom has been nominated for his work in manufacturing biodiesel. By using local waste products in production, farmland that can be used for food cultivation is not taken up to produce biodiesel. Biodiesel is also used for public transport on Åland, which means that fossil fuels do not need to be imported.