A new award has been launched this month to recognise the ‘greenest’ celebrities. Amongst the nominated A-Listers are Sting, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul McCartney.
An offshoot scheme of the better known International Green Awards (there to celebrate and mark the most creative campaigns for sustainability worldwide), these celebrity awards will mark and recognise a celebrity for their work in promoting and showing personal commitment to the sustainability agenda.
A number of big players are involved in the scheme – including WWF, Carbon Trust and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and it’s hoped that the awards will raise the profile of environmental projects, including the rainforest conservation effort.
Essentially, it will mark the more positive side of celebrity culture – the ability for a high-profile figure to positively influence and educate people into thinking and acting in a more sustainable and green way.
The inaugural awards have a shortlist of fifteen nominees to date. Sting is an obvious contender and rainforest activist – having helped to found the excellent work of Rainforest International. Brazilian model, Gisele Bundchen, is nominated for donating proceeds from her footwear range to Amazon rainforest water projects and Don Cheadle actively promotes and supports the United Nation’s initiative against climate change awareness – Seal the Deal. Other nominees include international stars, including Helen Cristensen, Japanese songstress Iruka, actor Li Bing Bing and Gael Garcia Bernal, the Mexican A-list actor. Leonardo DiCaprio is recognised for driving an electric car and sitting on the board of Global Green USA, an environmental not for profit group – as is Cameron Diaz, named by Vogue as ‘Queen of Green’ in 2009.
Most of the nominees have already been recognised by their peers, sustainability groups and the media as being strong ambassadors for climate change awareness. The winner will be chosen by public vote – log onto the website for the awards – International Green Awards. The winner will be announced in November at a prestigious gala dinner in London.