Energy Gold Award for Turkish dairy company Enfaş Enerji Elektrik Üretimi
- EBRD Sustainability Awards winners announced
- Awards honour clients for outstanding sustainability work
- Fourteen awards in four categories
Fourteen companies which have made outstanding contributions to promoting environmental and social sustainability were honoured with awards at the EBRD Annual Meeting 2018 in Jordan today. The awards ceremony followed the launch of the EBRD’s latest Sustainability Report.
The awards, organised by the EBRD’s Environment and Sustainability Department to recognise achievement in the field, are awarded annually in four categories: sustainable energy, climate resilience, environmental and social best practice, and environmental and social innovation.
After receiving a record 55 nominations, 14 projects were selected in 2018 for gold, silver and bronze awards across the four categories. The 2018 judges were Gulbin Bekit, CFO of Akfen Holding, which has sponsored the Sustainability Awards for the past five years; Mark Hurley, head of the Environmental Discipline at international consulting company WSP; Geoff Lane, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC); and the EBRD’s Jordan head of office, Heike Harmgart.
The winner of this year’s Sustainable Energy Gold Award is Enfaş Enerji Elektrik Üretimi A.Ş from Turkey. Enfaş is part of the Sütaş Group, the largest dairy group in Turkey, which created an innovative energy arm of its business to use the group’s waste and by-products – such as dairy waste, cow manure and wastewater treatment sludge – to produce renewable energy. It has already expanded the group’s biogas power production and capacity and established an organic fertiliser production facility.
The Climate Resilience Gold Award goes to Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Waters and Forests for the country’s Saïss Water Conservation Project. The project pioneers the shift from the use of unsustainable groundwater through the transfer of an average of 100 million square metres of surface water from the M’Dez dam to the Saïss plain, bringing clean, safe and sustainable water to some 350,000 people and agricultural producers in the area and enhancing their capacity to cope with climate change more effectively.
For Environmental and Social Best Practice, the Gold Award goes to Egyptian National Railways. In a country where 86.5 per cent of women report having experienced sexual harassment on public transport, the railway company is recognised for its pioneering work in addressing gender issues. This includes an awareness-raising campaign to improve safety for women and prevent harassment.
The Gold Award winner of the Environmental and Social Innovation category is the Lithuanian Public Investment Development Agency (VIPA) for supporting apartment building management associations in refurbishing existing buildings and implementing energy efficiency improvements and renovations. The agency was set up by the Lithuanian government to promote financial instruments in energy efficiency and public infrastructure sectors. Residential energy efficiency investments are essential to reduce heat energy consumption in Lithuania, where households’ average energy consumption is two times higher than that of neighbouring Sweden.
Ten further companies won silver and bronze prizes.
The Silver Winners
Sustainable Energy: Risha Solar Photovoltaic Power
Climate Resilience: Tajikistan Climate Resilience Finance Facility – Microcredit Deposit Organisation “Humo”
Environmental and Social Best Practice: Shymkent Wastewater Treatment Essential Modernisation Project
Environmental and Social Innovation: Şişecam Turkey Glass Recycling and Energy Efficiency Projects
The Bronze Winners
Sustainable Energy: Green Cities Framework: Banja Luka District Heating
Climate Resilience (two winners): Enguri Hydro Power Plant – Climate Resilience Upgrade Project and
Varna Climate Resilience Infrastructure Project
Environmental and Social Best Practice (two winners): Fayoum Wastewater Expansion Programme and
Dundee Precious Metals
Environmental and Social Innovation: Nibulon Grain Infrastructure
The EBRD promotes environmental and social sustainability through investments in projects, financial intermediaries and technical cooperation programmes.