Professor Rob Adams (The Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year)
Director of Design and Urban Environment at the City of Melbourne, Rob Adams is an architect and urban designer whose achievements include:
- Establishing Australia’s greenest building, the CH2
- Postcode 3000, an initiative designed to attract residents back to the Melbourne CBD and reduce their travel distances to work, entertainment and leisure
Earth Hour Australia (The Origin Gold Banksia Award)
A community-owned initiative Earth Hour had over 50 million participants world-wide in 2008. With a goal of sending out a powerful message regarding the need for climate change action, Earth Hour has grown from a Sydney based initiative in 2007 to incorporating all major capital cities in Australia and over 20 others internationally. Participants are required to turn their lights off for one hour, at a designated time and date to unite in sending the campaign’s intended message.
Larissa Brown (The Environment Minister’s Young Environmentalist of the Year)
The Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership, Larissa heads up this Melbourne-based not-for profit group whose flagship initiative is the Future Sustainability Leaders program. This unique education program combines passionate, young-high achievers with leading thinkers and influencers with the goal of creating the future leaders in sustainability and the environment. Larissa is currently working towards taking the program globally.
Professor Matthew England (Mercedes Benz Australian Environmental Research Award)
Co-Director of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, Professor England studies the global-scale ocean circulation and its influence it has on regional climate, large-scale physical oceanography, ocean modelling, and climate processes, with a particular focus on the Southern Hemisphere. Much of his research has contributed to understanding of regional rainfall variability and predictability, discovering a distinctive pattern of Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies that characterise South West, Western Australia rainfall variations; a region suffering a long-term water crisis.
Dr Zhengrong Shi (The Banksia International Award)
Obtaining his a master’s in laser physics in Shanghai Dr Zhengrong Shi came to Australia to become a PhD student at the University of New South Wales in their photovoltaics laboratory. Dr Shi. is now Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Suntech, an international leader in the design and manufacture of innovative solar energy solutions, is recognised for his company’s leading innovation and research and development into solar power generation products.
Rouse Hill Town Centre (The Banksia People’s Choice Awards)
Recognised as Australia’s first regional shopping centre with a comprehensive approach to world class social and environmental sustainability the Rouse Hill Town Centre proves that responsible property can be delivered profitably. Costing $470 million, the project is expected to deliver a 7 percent year one yield, and is on track to deliver its 25 percent ecological footprint reduction as compared to a standard shopping centre of comparable size.
To read about other award recipients from the night go to: http://www.banksiafdn.com/
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