he search is on for sustainable energy trailblazers from India

Deadline for entries: 5 November 2013

The world’s most esteemed green energy awards scheme is seeking entries for its 2014 Awards. The Ashden Awards showcase sustainable energy trailblazers from across the globe which are leading the way in promoting sustainable energy and increasing access to energy.  Entry to the awards is free, with five outstanding winners to receive awards of up to £40,000 at a prestigious ceremony in London in June 2013.

As well as making financial awards, Ashden also offers a package of benefits to winners, including tailored support to help organisations scale up; a global platform to promote their work; global media exposure, introductions to investors and funders and a short broadcast-quality film about the work. Winning an Ashden Award also marks entry into an elite group of global sustainable energy leaders.

Since the Awards were established in 2001, some 36 enterprises and programmes in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been awarded the internationally renowned Award, including 20 from India. Indian winners formed their own organisation, the Ashden India Renewable Energy Collective. The Collective works to eradicate the vicious cycle of energy poverty in India, and acts as a unified voice for the sustainable energy sector.

In 2012, the Ashden International Gold Award winner was the Indian microfinance organisation Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) for showing how ethically managed microfinance can deliver sustainable energy to the poor.

Dr. LH Manjunath, Executive Director of SKDRDP said:
“Winning the Ashden Award really helped take us a notch up in terms of raising our profile. We were on the front page of all the newspapers, and everyone seems to know about us now.”

On 10th and 11th September, Ashden Founder Director Sarah Butler-Sloss participated in an event organised by the International Sustainable Energy for All Initiative on ‘Advancing Energy Access in South Asia’ in Patna-Bihar. Representatives from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy attended, as well as other governments in the region.

Note

The Ashden Awards were set up in 2001 to champion practical, local energy solutions that cut carbon, protect the environment, reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. Since then they have rewarded and supported more than 150 winners across the UK and the developing world. For further information, including photos, films, and case studies on past winners, go to www.ashden.org