Sustainable Coastlines wins national Energy Globe Award

Sustainable Coastlines wins national Energy Globe Award

Media release: Wednesday, 24 January 2024

The Energy Globe Award is described as the world’s most prestigious award for sustainability, and the organisation has bestowed the 2023 New Zealand award to Sustainable Coastlines for its Litter Intelligence programme.

Energy Globe aims to present successful sustainable projects to a global audience and to demonstrate that for most of our environmental problems, feasible solutions are already available.

Ulrike Straka, Austrian Trade Commissioner, presented the award to Sustainable Coastlines at the charity’s Flagship Education Centre. Straka said that this year, thousands of projects have been submitted from more than 180 countries.

“It’s awarded annually to projects saving our environment by personal action, sustainable projects or campaigns for raising awareness in sustainability. Both the quality and the diversity of the submitted projects are overwhelming, which made it very difficult to choose the very best project,” said Straka.

Austrian Trade Commissioner Ulrike Straka and some of the Sustainable Coastlines team — Josh Borthwick, Helen Adams-Blackburn, Janey Smith, and Te Hira Mayall-Nahi.

This isn’t the first time that Sustainable Coastlines has been honoured by Energy Globe. In 2018, the charity was the proud recipient of the even more prestigious International Energy Globe Award in the ‘Youth’ category for its work with young people.

This time, Litter Intelligence was submitted in the ‘Water’ category. Alongside coastal litter data, the programme enables citizen scientists to collect data from freshwater and stormwater sites. Through monitoring litter before it reaches the coast and collecting it in an open-source database, a greater understanding of how litter affects our wider water systems is achieved. This informs decision-makers on how to best keep our freshwater reserves free of pollution such as plastic.

Sustainable Coastlines CEO Josh Borthwick notes that the team is thrilled to have their efforts recognised, saying, “We wish to thank Ulrike and the rest of the Energy Globe team for recognising Sustainable Coastlines and our Litter Intelligence programme. Receiving such a prestigious award is a huge boost to our team, and will no doubt benefit our charity in the coming years.”

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Camden Howitt wins Sustainability Superstar Award

Camden Howitt is Co-Founder and Programmes Director of multi award-winning charity Sustainable Coastlines. He is also a founding member of Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance and an Edmund Hillary Fellow. He is a passionate advocate for our oceans and a driving force behind community solutions.

Since 2008, Sustainable Coastlines has delivered large-scale coastal clean-ups, education and data collection activities around Aotearoa New Zealand. Camden leads strategy, fundraising and design. He manages national and international stakeholder relationships. He also raises the profile of the cause through media and speaking opportunities.

Camden on a remote Fiordland beach conducting a Litter Intelligence survey in May 2021.

A regular contributor to national, regional and global dialogue on marine litter, Camden relentlessly pushes for innovative solutions. He has twice addressed the United Nations at its headquarters in New York, and presented at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya.

Camden has devoted 12 years to designing, delivering, refining and scaling Sustainable Coastlines’ work to connect more people to nature and inspire positive change. Without his communication and influencing skills, the organisation would not have achieved the level of recognition and influence it has around Aotearoa New Zealand. His dedication makes a difference to communities, government policy and our environment every day.