ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - What do Vietnamese rice farms, African theater, olive oil and the birthplace of golf have in common? The St. Andrews Prize for the Environment.
The fifth annual St. Andrews Prize for the Environment - the U.K.'s leading international environmental prize - was launched today. A joint initiative of The University of St. Andrews, Scotland, a world leader in environmental studies, and leading international energy company Conoco (NYSE: COC), the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment recognizes practical, original and sustainable solutions to environmental challenges.

Individuals, multi-disciplinary teams and community groups are invited to enter the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment. The prize is open to entrants from anywhere in the world and from any professional or personal background. This year, entrants are encouraged to seek ideas for topics from the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in August, which will focus on conservation of natural resources in a world that is not only growing in population, but faces ever-increasing demands for food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security. Full details about how to enter are on the Prize website www.thestandrewsprize.com.

The 2002 prize winner was a project team from the Philippines, who devised an initiative to persuade one million rice farmers in Vietnam to stop spraying harmful and unnecessary insecticides. Previous winners have included a project to use popular theater techniques of dance and drama to educate local communities about the environmental problems threatening Lake Victoria in East Africa; a Palestinian idea for turning the waste from olive oil production into valuable by-products; and a South African proposal to reverse environmental degradation caused by mining developments.

"It is crucial that we improve links between our academic institutions, industry and wider society. The St. Andrews Prize for the Environment provides a concrete example of the way in which new ideas can change our lives for the better," said Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning in the Scottish Parliament.
Entries for the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment, which will be judged by a distinguished panel that will include directors of global institutions and companies, will be short listed early next year, with winners announced in May 2003 at a seminar in St. Andrews, Scotland. The winner will receive $30,000 and runners-up will each receive $5,000.

"Through the St. Andrews Prize we have received varied entries from around the world that provide practical, original and sustainable solutions to today's environmental challenges," said Archie W. Dunham, Chairman and CEO of Conoco. "Creating a sustainable future is a necessity, not an option and will be achieved only through long-term collaboration and cooperation among all stakeholders.

"The St. Andrews Prize for the Environment is one way that Conoco can honor initiatives that will lead to sustainable growth," Dunham added. Conoco is a major, integrated energy company active in more than 40 countries.

Notes to Editors

1. Full details of the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment are available at www.thestandrewsprize.com, or can be obtained from the St. Andrews Prize office (telephone +44 1334 462161 or by e-mail prize@st-andrews.ac.uk).

2. No entry forms are required. All entrants have to do is submit an outline proposal on a single sheet of A4 paper by October 30, 2002. A selection of entrants will then be asked to elaborate on their ideas with a fuller submission due on January 17, 2003. For the first time, entries can be accepted by email.

3. The St. Andrews Prize board of trustees, chaired by Sir Crispin Tickell, former Convener of the British Government's Panel on Sustainable Development, include: Baroness Greenfield, Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain; Prof. Sir John Krebs, Chairman of the Food Standards Agency; Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Executive Director of Leadership for Environment and Development International; Sara Parkin, Director of Forum for the Future; Dr Alun Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of The New Scientist; James Currie, Consultant in EU and U.S. Public Affairs; Archie W. Dunham, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Conoco Inc.; Keith Henry, Group Executive Vice President and Chief Executive of Kvaerner Engineering and Construction plc.; Prof. Brian Hoskins, Professor of Meteorology at Reading University; The Rt. Hon. Lord Jenkin of Rodin, Chairman of the Foundation for Science and Technology; Richard Sandbrook, Senior Adviser to the International Institute for Environment and Development (representing HRH the Prince of Wales); Dr. George Watkins, Chairman and Managing Director of Conoco (U.K.) Limited; and Dr. Brian Lang, Principal of the University of St Andrews.

4. Logos and photographs of previous winners are available from Colman Getty PR at +44 131 477 7950.

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