Great honor for the environmental award: now to be held annually in the European Parliament

The ENERGY GLOBE is to become an institution in the European Parliament, which will serve as the annual venue. This was advocated last Tuesday by the leadership of the European Parliament. “Now we need to create the necessary legal foundation in the Parliament,” reported MEP Dr. Paul Rübig, one of the most important supporters of the ENERGY GLOBE in the European Parliament. For Award initiator Wolfgang Neumann, this is the crowning achievement of his efforts toward energy efficiency and environmental protection; his work began 25 years ago with the launch of the Energiesparmesse (Energy Expo): “This alliance with the most important European institution is the finest recognition of my work to date and the highest distinction for the ENERGY GLOBE Award.”

Twice already the pompous awards ceremony took place in the Plenary Hall in Brussels in the presence of EU leadership and worldwide prominence such as Kofi Annan and Mikhail Gorbachev: Parliament President Dr. Hans-Gert Pöttering sees the Energy Globe as “a new impetus for fighting climate change” and assesses the Gala as an important event “that makes people conscious of this challenge.” The previous Brussels ceremonies were broadcast to billions of households worldwide.

Czech Award premiers this year

The worldwide success story of the Austrian initiative seems unstoppable. The numbers speak for themselves: in barely a decade the Award has triggered a worldwide environmental movement and made an important contribution toward a better life for millions of people. In 2008, 111 nations submitted over 800 projects for an ENERGY GLOBE Award. The next highlight is the Czech Energy Globe Award in Brno on 27 November 2008; there leadership from government and industry will distinguish the best environmental achievements of the country with the ecological seal of approval of the ENERGY GLOBE.

The ENERGY GLOBE began 1999 on initiative of Neumann. Since then it is presented annually at regional (in Austria), national und international levels. The goal of the ENERGY GLOBE is to present the best solutions for current energy and climate challenges to as broad an audience as possible. Awards are made to projects worldwide in the categories Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Youth. The requirement that all submitted projects must meet is cautious and frugal utilization of resources and the use of sustainable energy sources.

Projects can already be submitted for the ENERGY GLOBE 2009.

KC