• Energy and Environment Awards

  • Presented by

  • The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Awards

    Created by the Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network and Henry Crown Fellows, the Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Awards recognize and reward excellence for those making significant contributions to innovation, implementation, and communication of energy and environmental solutions.

    These awards, presented annually, are designed to draw attention to the organizations and people who are making the biggest strides, acting as leaders, catalysts, and educators, particularly at the critical nexus between energy and environmental problems and solutions. The object is to celebrate success and provoke conversations about ways to emulate and expand upon the success stories honored.
     
    For the first year we have 5 total awards, awards across corporate (energy generation and conservation), NGO, government, and individual categories.

    Awards Dinner at Jerome Hotel Ballroom – March 26, 2008

    6:00pm  Cocktail hour (Antler Bar)

    7:00pm  Welcome by Lee A. McIntire, President and Chief Operating Officer,
                    CH2M HILL

    7:10pm  The Catto Fellowship - Aspen Environment Forum “Headlines”

    7:30pm  Dinner served.

    8:00pm*  Announcement of the Aspen Energy and Environment Award 
                     Recipients

    8:15pm  Amory Lovins, Co-Founder, Chief Scientist, and Chairman, Rocky
                    Mountain Institute

    8:30pm  Panel discussion with Energy and Environment Awards Recipients

    9:15pm  Question and Answers

    9:30pm   Conclusion

    *Lights will be dimmed from 8pm to 9pm in celebration of Earth Hour.  Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.


    The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Awards Committee of Judges:

    Abby Joseph Cohen, Chief US Investment Strategist, Goldman Sachs
    Bill Dirks, Managing Partner, Tecton Energy, LLC
    Neil Jacobstein, Chairman, and CEO, Teknowledge Corporation
    Peter Kareiva, Chief Scientist, The Nature Conservancy
    Lucy P. Marcus, CEO, Marcus Venture Consulting
    Chris Perceval, Corporate Relations Manager, World Resources Institute
    Peter Seligmann, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO, Conservation International
    Sonal Shah, Head of Global Development Initiatives, Google.org
    Vishal Vasishth, CEO, Clean Partners

  • 2008 Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Award Winners

    Corporate Energy Generation
    SolarCity
    For disruptive solutions in the generation and distribution of renewable energy.
    SolarCity, ranked by the California Energy Commission as the fastest growing solar installation company in California, has developed innovative business models and industry practices to reduce the cost and risk of neighborhood installation of solar photovoltaic panels.
    CEO Lyndon Rive will be accepting the award on behalf of SolarCity.

    Corporate Energy Conservation
    Serious Materials
    For building materials that reduce energy and environmental impact.
    Serious Materials develops and supplies advanced eco-friendly materials for sustainable development. Drywall accounts for a substantial fraction of the energy “embodied” in homes. The company’s EcoRock® product has the industry’s lowest energy input and carbon footprint, currently by an order of magnitude.
    President and CEO Kevin Surace will be accepting the award on behalf of Serious Materials.

    Individual Thought Leadership
    Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute
    For scalable and disruptive thought leadership in energy conservation and transportation.
    For over 30 years, Amory Lovins has been the planet’s key creator and advocate of scalable energy conservation solutions. He has recently led the technical redesign of $30 billion worth of facilities in 29 sectors to achieve very large energy savings at typically lower capital cost. His 1991 invention of the highly integrated ultralight-hybrid Hypercar® concept, has led to many of the higher efficiency cars that we see on the road today, and will see in the future.

    Non-governmental Organization
    The California Cars Initiative
    For increasing energy efficiency and decreasing the environmental impact of automobiles.
    The California Cars Initiative (CalCars.org) is a nonprofit startup of entrepreneurs, engineers, environmentalists and consumers promoting 100+MPG plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). This organization focuses both on public policy and technology development. It has been harnessing buyer demand to help commercialize PHEVs. 
    Founder Felix Kramer will be accepting the award on behalf of the California Cars Initiative. 

    Government
    State of California Energy Commission’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative
    For developing significant new policies that benefit energy and environmental objectives.
    As part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Million Solar Roofs Plan, California has set a goal to create 3,000 megawatts of new, solar-produced electricity by 2017 - moving the state toward a cleaner energy future and helping lower the cost of solar systems for consumers.  The California Solar Initiative, which implements the plan, is being coordinated with the state's energy efficiency, "smart" metering, and building standards programs. 
    Commissioner Jim Boyd will be accepting the award on behalf of the California Energy Commission.