Izilla Award Winning Site
6/02/2005 | Karlson 'Charlie' Hargroves, The Natural Edge Project
"It brings us great pleasure to announce that The Natural Edge Project has been awarded a 2005 Banksia Award!"
The Natural Edge Project (TNEP), a team of young Australians with a passion for delivering solutions for a sustainable future, was announced the winner of the 2005 Banksia Award for Environmental Leadership Education and Training on the 4th June in Adelaide.
The Banksia Awards, dubbed the most prestigious in the nation, aims to recognise and reward individuals, community groups, businesses and government organisations for environmental excellence and innovation. The theme for this year's awards is 'Transformation through Education', to mark the beginning of the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development. The Natural Edge Project received the Award for their newly released publication The Natural Advantage of Nations and associated training program for engineers, the Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program.
“Without Izilla's support, TNEP's success could not have been achieved.”
Karlson 'Charlie' Hargroves
The Natural Edge Project
TNEP is hosted by Engineers Australia, the nation's peak body for engineering professionals. Engineers Australia President Professor Andrew Downing commented on the accolade, "The pivotal element of this process (sustainable development) is education, and I find it really heartening that so many people are thirsty for knowledge and wanting to implement the 'new' principals and methodologies that you (TNEP) have developed and promoted."
The Natural Advantage of Nations publication brings together the work of over 30 international contributors and co-authors, citing examples of best practice across business, government and civil society to show that economic growth and business competitiveness in the 21st century need not be in conflict with environmental and social sustainability. Coupled with an online companion built by Izilla (www.thenaturaladvantage.info), the publication is currently 6th bestseller on the Earthscan Publishing list and dubbed "the most comprehensive book on sustainability to date".
Building on from the publication, the Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program (ESSP) delivers the 'critical literacies' required for engineers to understand the basics of a range of emerging sustainable solutions across all disciplines. Further modules of the ESSP are currently being developed with support from UNESCO and Engineers Australia. The Introductory Module of the ESSP was developed with a grant from Engineers Australia and is currently in trial with 14 universities and TAFE institutions nationally.
TNEP wishes to thank the supporters of TNEP and contributors of their initiatives. In particular they would like to thank Engineers Australia, CSIRO, Environment Business Australia, Barton Group, RMIT Global Sustainability Unit, Izilla, the Environmental Engineering Society, CEPA and ANU. Without their support, TNEP's success could not have been achieved.
For more information on The Natural Edge Project and its award-winning initiatives, visit www.naturaledgeproject.net/2005BanksiaAwards.aspx.
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