The Green Swan Trophy
This has been a wonderful and deeply satisfying project for Nicola to be involved with and is very grateful for the chance to help in this way. Nicola always wanted to help save the world and in her twenties was involved with WWF https://www.wwf.org.uk/, whose logo was designed by the late Sir Peter Scott, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Scott and FOE https://friendsoftheearth.uk/ helping to raise money for these charities through exhibitions.
This trophy was commissioned by the extraordinary John Elkington https://johnelkington.com/ and https://volans.com/project/green-swans/
Green Swan Awards
The Green Swan Awards spotlight exponential solutions to wicked problems that make the seemingly impossible virtually inevitable, celebrating past achievements and spurring future innovation.
https://johnelkington.com/2019/12/green-swan-prize-taking-shape/
The first three people to receive the Green Swan Award Trophy are:
Denis Hayes
Founder, Earth Day Network
In 1970, the first Earth Day inspired 20 million Americans, 10% of the total population at the time, to take to the streets in demonstrations to protect the planet.
Under Founder Denis Hayes’s pioneering stewardship, the global influence of the Earth Day movement has only continued to blossom over time. Celebrating the milestone of its 50th anniversary this year on April 22nd, today Earth Day encompasses more than 190 participating countries and is the biggest secular event in the world’s annual calendar.
Not only is Denis deservedly recognised as one of the most influential environmental campaigners of all time, but Volans’ founder John Elkington hails the Earth Day movement as “one of the most effective and impactful ‘Green Swans’ of the past fifty years”.
Tim Smit
Founder and Executive Co-Chair of Eden Project International
The Eden Project transformed a vast china clay pit in Cornwall into a world class attraction and hub that has introduced sustainability thinking and practices to over 20 million visitors – in the process injecting over £1.5 billion into the regional economy.
Truly, a masterwork in regenerative capitalism. Eden features prominently in Green Swans because it powerfully illustrates the original intent of the triple bottom line – an integrated, systemic approach to economic, social and environmental value creation.
Sacha Dench
Founder of Conservation Without Borders
Known as the “Human Swan,” Sacha Dench is a pilot with a mission: “Connecting Science, People & Planet”. Her groundbreaking expedition, Flight of the Swans, involved flying 7,000 kilometres by paramotor, in all weathers, from Arctic Russia across 11 countries to the UK – to help draw attention to the plight of the Bewick’s swan.