Voting is now open for the INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS^™Most Responsible Celebrity Award. Nominees include the global eco-glitterati such as George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Ian Somerhalder, Sachin Tendulkar and fashion visionary Vivienne Westwood, among others.

This award seeks to recognise an international media figure who has consistently promoted the sustainability agenda globally and as a result, influenced mass audiences as a celebrity. The competition is now open to a public vote at www.greenawards.com. This year’s nominees are comprised of 10 well respected celebrities who are deemed to have used their prominence to promote environmental and sustainable development issues and thus have become ‘responsible celebrities’. The candidate with the most votes will be announced as the winner at a showcase sustainable gala dinner on Tuesday 20^th November at the Battersea Power Station, London. The winner will then be heralded as the ‘greenest’ media exemplar internationally.

Last year’s winner international supermodel Gisele Bündchen said in her acceptance speech “I have been blessed with the opportunity to bring attention to environmental causes, they are dear to my heart.” She also thanked her fans for voting and said of the award “Thank you for this special honour, I am filled with gratitude.”

In these troubled times for the environment, with climate-related disasters never far from the front page, it’s often news which features celebrities which attracts the most green media interest. The International Green Awards^™aims to raise the bar around the ‘cult of celebrity’. This award puts the spotlight on those progressive individuals who are keen to harness the power of the media, challenge conventional thinking on the climate agenda and who are really ahead of the game by ‘doing their bit’ for the future of us all.

Celebrities are undoubtedly some of the most powerful influencers in the world – they set trends for others to follow and thus are opinion leaders in their own right. In recent times as we adjust to the age of business transparency, an increasing number of celebrities have jumped onto the environmental bandwagon, while still others have truly embraced issues from animal rights through to deforestation and famine. Aside from their affluence, celebrities can set a very clear example for others as role models by endorsing sustainable lifestyles from recycling and purchasing low carbon vehicles through to switching to renewable energy.

All of the media figures selected have already used their media prominence in some way in the past few years to engage with mass audiences on environmental, CSR or sustainable development issues.  In fact, many of the nominated celebrities are already recognised as ambassadors for organisations such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Tony Juniper, Writer, Campaigner, Independent Sustainability Advisor and 2012 International Green Awards™ Ambassador commented “This is why I am proud to support the International Green Awards^™, so that more people can see what is already happening, the leaders of positive initiatives be recognised and the rest of us to be encouraged by what they are doing.”

Don’t forget to make your vote count vote for the celebrity you respect the most by visiting www.greenawards.com before 6^th August.

Editor’s notes:

INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS^™

The International Green Awards™ is the leading platform sustainability intelligence, leadership and innovation. 

2012 Most Responsible Celebrity Nominees

Erykah Badu – Singer; USA

Soul singer Erykah Badu is a devout vegetarian and is known for her socially conscious outlook. She established the charity Beautiful Love Incorporated Non Profit Development (B.L.I.N.D.) supporting community development for inner-city youth through performing arts. She collaborated with Kiehl’s to produce an eco-friendly body lotion in a biodegradable bottle, encouraging people to use more products that do not harm the environment.  

George Clooney – Actor; USA

George Clooney is well known for ‘walking the talk’ on environmental and humanitarian issues. Following the release of ‘Syriana’ he launched a campaign to reduce America’s dependency on foreign oil. More recently, he has been involved in a mission to stop the human rights atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Pierre-Yves Cousteau – Marine Conservationist; FRANCE

IUCN Ambassador and dedicated marine conservationist Pierre-Yves Cousteau is founder of 'Cousteau Divers', a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the marine world.

Penelope Cruz – Actress; USA/ SPAIN

Penelope launched the 'Red Carpet/Green Cars' Oscars campaign and is a leading advocate of its Greenest City challenge, which sees cities across the US compete to win a fleet of eco-friendly cabs.

Livia Firth – Eco-preneur; UK

Livia Firth has a fastidious commitment to sustainable fashion. She started the Green Carpet Challenge (GCC) three years ago to bring the environmental and social issues surrounding clothing to the fore.

Nadya Hutagalung – Eco-Activist, TV Personality; INDONESIA/SINGAPORE

Nadya Hutagalung became a household name as a VJ on MTV, but is equally well-known as an eco-activist and advocate for sustainable living. Her website GreenKampong provides a forum for those interested in eco-friendly living and in conservation.

Ian Somerhalder – Actor/Model; USA

Ian Somerhalder set up the 'IS Foundation' with the aim to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures. One of his latest 'green' ideas is to make the Vampire Diaries set more eco-friendly.

Sachin Tendulkar – Cricketer; INDIA

Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar has used his popularity to lend support to UNICEF campaigns in his home country. In 2010, he was also appointed as a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador and participated in the 2012 Earth Hour Challenge.

Vivienne Westwood – Designer; UK

The designer recently unveiled her new Manifesto titled ‘Do It Your Self’, which suggests that fashion should be less about the recent move towards 'throw away' philosophies, where people buy cheap items and throw them away after a short period of time, and more about recycling, quality and utilising key pieces.

Zhou Xun – Actress; CHINA

Zhou Xun, one of China’s most popular actresses, spends much of her time promoting ‘tips for green living’ through 'Our Part', a campaign she runs jointly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

VOTING FOR THE ‘MOST RESPONSIBLE CELEBRITY’ AWARD

Have your say in who really is the most responsible celebrity through our public vote on our website. Visit http://www.greenawards.com/about/best-green-celebrity/nominees

To engage through social media, send a tweet to @GreenAwards with the hash tag #MostResponsibleCeleb and #GreenAwards.

For press enquiries contact The INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS™ Team

00 44 (0) 20 7 877 0631/32/34

www.greenawards.com

Green Awards

Green Awards

In 6 years, the RSA Accredited INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS™ has established itself as a pioneer in illustrating creativity to promote sustainability on a global scale. With an emphasis on innovative ideas, the INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS™ seeks to recognise sustainability practice that sets a precedent to follow. These represent global business, government or citizen sustainability success stories that motivate others to imbibe similar ideas in everyday practice.

The INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS™ promotes advocacy on sustainability issues, and present a wide range of engaging campaigns and initiatives from around the world. The Awards canvas the globe for the best in class examples of sustainability, with the aim of sharing the most creative and innovative ideas inspiring change. While being creative, these ideas must also demonstrate effectiveness and be part of a long term commitment.

This year, the INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS™ is introducing a unique membership platform to add further value. This interactive platform will connect a global community of influencers, experts and citizens on the ubiquitous agenda of sustainability.

The 2011 INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS™ feature 20 categories, seeking the global Best Green Large Enterprise through to Best Sustainable Investment. The Awards is also introducing the 'Best Green Celebrity Award', and will honour another deserving citizen with the 'Lifetime Achievement Award'. The former will be open to public voting through social networks and the INTERNATIONAL GREEN AWARDS website. More information on categories and entering are available on our new website www.greenawards.com.

The Award close for entries in September 2011, with the 'green carpet' being rolled out for winners on 24th November at the Natural History Museum, London.

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