Brasília – The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has awarded six people from the world over for their sustainable development initiatives. The Brazilian businessman Fábio Barbosa won in the Entrepreneurial Vision category for his work in social and environmental projects. For more than ten years, he helped integrate conscious social and environmental practices into the management of companies and banks such as Real – ABN Amro Bank, and also during his term as president of the Brazilian Bank Federation.
Other winners included the Kenyan community leader Massai Samson Parashina, the United Arab Emirates’ sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the Swiss researcher Bertrand Piccard, the Dutch scientist Sander Van Der Leeuw and the president of Mongolia, Tsakhia Elbegdorj.
The Kenyan leader was awarded the Grassroots Initiative prize for establishing a fund to support educational and environmental preservation projects in a rural community. The Mongolian president won for adopting pollution control policies in his country, one of the least populated in the world.
Switzerland’s Bertrand Piccard won the prize for his solar-powered aircraft project. The Dutch scientist Van Der Leeuw won the Science and Innovation category for his studies on innovation and sustainability, and sultan Al Jaber was acknowledged for the sustainable Masdar City project, in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
Launched in 2005, the UN’s Champions of the Earth Award has acknowledged environmental preservation actions taken by 50-plus people. Past winners include the former United States vice president Al Gore, the current Mexican president Felipe Calderón, and the Chinese actress and activist chinesa Zhou Xun.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
