Introduction

The European Sustainability Award is an annual initiative of the European Commission to reward the efforts and creativity of European people, businesses and organisations. The ambition of this award is clear: championing inspiring cases of initiatives that are turning the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into concrete solutions and opportunities. The specific objectives of the European Sustainability Award are:

- to recognize initiatives in the European Union with a transformative contribution to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

- to promote further development of initiatives in the European Union focusing on sustainable development, including an increasing awareness and involvement of citizens and stakeholders in the European Union;

- to identify initiatives able to act as "sustainability ambassadors' for the European Union, in order to encourage others to progress towards better sustainable development outcomes.

Topics

For 2019 the theme is “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality” which refers to a cluster of SDGs: SDG4 on quality education, SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth, SDG 10 on reduced inequalities, SDG 13 on climate action, SDG 16 on peace justice and strong institutions, and SDG 17 on partnerships for the goals.

Eligible projects

Submitted projects can only cover activities taking place inside the European Union (at national level or at cross border level) except for applications from the civil society, who can also submit projects taking place outside the European Union. Projects will have to respect the cross-cutting nature of the SDGs and address the three dimensions of sustainable development: environmental, economic and social.

Eligible applicants

The applicants can be the following stakeholders: public bodies, private bodies such as small and medium-sized enterprises and large enterprises, civil society/non-profit organisations and youth organisations. All applicants must be based in a Member State of the European Union.

Type of award

The Award is immaterial and brings high visibility in the form of renewed public interest and increased media coverage. The winners will meet during 2019 for several (1 to 4) European Union related sustainability events (e.g. Award ceremony, meetings of the multi-stakeholder platform, etc.). A total of 7 awards will be granted, one per category of stakeholder.

More information at

https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/international-strategies/global-topics/sustainable-developmentgoals/multi-stakeholder-platform-sdgs/european-sustainability-award_en