UNIDO SDG Awards

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Applications open until 31st October

The Award

The SDG Innovation Award celebrates initiatives that make exceptional contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The award offers an opportunity for companies, institutions, municipalities, and more to showcase their impactful projects on an international stage. Beyond honoring the nominees and winners, the award seeks to inspire a broader commitment to embedding the SDGs across industries and communities.

The award focuses on innovative initiatives that address multiple sustainability goals, such as sustainable supply chains, clean energy, technology transfer, and more. Applicants who take a holistic approach to addressing goals in line with the Agenda 2030 are especially encouraged to apply.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 requires action from us all, now! The SDG Innovation Award honours your best practices. Join us and apply today!

Dr. Gerd Müller

Director General of UNIDO

What is the SDG Innovation Award?

The SDG Award offers an unique opportunity for companies, institutions and municipalities to showcase their impactful projects on an international stage and to inspire and encourage others to get involved.
It recognizes pioneers and trailblazers dedicated to the sustainability and celebrates significant advancements in areas such as climate and environmental protection, energy, education, and more.
The award has formerly attracted applications from over 50 countries, emphasizing its global significance and impact.

The three categories of award are:

Companies drive innovation by developing technological solutions that significantly contribute to sustainable development. With a clear focus on the SDGs, companies can make impactful contributions in areas like climate and environmental protection, sustainable production, energy-efficient infrastructure, fair working conditions, and ethical business practices. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure are deeply interconnected, showcasing the vast potential for innovation within businesses. Companies are encouraged to apply if they have pioneered significant contributions to sustainable industrial development, particularly in promoting resource efficiency, low-carbon production, circular economy, and sustainable supply chains.

Cities, municipalities, and counties play a pivotal role in sustainable development, as they oversee communities. Using the SDGs as a guide, these groups can foster long-term sustainability by focusing on resource conservation, mobility, health, and infrastructure to enhance quality of life. Sustainable cities are future-ready, resilient, and inclusive. Key strategies include efficient land use, low resource consumption, and robust climate protection efforts to reduce environmental impact.

Youth are the future - driving change with their creativity and passion. Educational initiatives, projects, and organizations that empower youth to actively contribute to sustainable development are especially encouraged to apply. The award recognizes projects focused on areas such as environmental protection, climate change, social justice, health, and education. This includes initiatives that highlight transfer of knowledge and skills, fostering awareness and responsibility, and encouraging youth participation in concrete actions towards achieving the SDGs. This category is open to schools, universities, youth organizations, educational initiatives, sponsors, and others committed to advancing the 2030 Agenda's goals.

Jury

Nominees will be evaluated by an independent jury lead by Ashok Sridharan (Former Mayor of the UN City of Bonn) and experts from various fields. The award has formerly attracted applications from over 50 countries, emphasizing its global significance and impact. You may find the jury members below:

Ashok Sridharan - Jury Chairman

Ashok Sridharan is the former Mayor of the UN City of Bonn and President of ICLEI, a global network working with more than 2500 local and regional governments. He is a lawyer and Special Advisor on Global Sustainable Economy at the Senate of Economy.

Dr. Gerd Müller - Observer

Dr. Gerd Müller is the Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and former Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. He has outstanding expertise in climate change, the environment, sustainability, and development policy. In his office as Federal Minister he campaigned in particular for sustainable supply chains and more efforts in achieving the SDGs. Key focus areas of his work are the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Beijing Declaration on Gender Equality.

SDG Innovation Award 2024

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Nominees for the SDG Innovation Award 2024

The nominees for the 2024 SDG Innovation Award have been revealed, showcasing outstanding leaders and organizations that exemplify the integration of sustainable practices into business and society. With a record-breaking 270 applications from 38 countries, the nominees span various sectors, including innovative companies, forward-thinking cities, and impactful youth and education initiatives. These trailblazers demonstrate how innovation and sustainability go hand in hand, inspiring global progress toward the SDGs.

Take a look below for this year’s nominees:

Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG
Aseel Technology Corporation
Brands Fashion GmbH
Ecological Balance
Elucid GmbH
Maschinenring Foundation gGmbH
Mosca GmbH
PT Mukti Mandiri Lestari
VAUDE Sport GmbH & Co. KG
WILO SE

Akshar Foundation
Schule im Aufbruch gGmbH
SkillUp e.V.
Stiftung Allianz für Entwicklung und Klima
Volvo Group

Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Freetown (Sierra Leone)
Incheon (South Korea)
Kiel (Germany)
Lüdenscheid (Germany)
Mesa (USA)
Samsø (Denmark)

Award Ceremony 2023

Winners UNIDO Innovation Award 2023

Our Partner - Senat der Wirtschaft

The Senate of Economy is a community of individuals from a variety of sectors, including business, civil society, science and research. They are committed to developing solutions that serve the greater good. The Senate of Economy is not aligned with any particular interest group.

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