Forum wins award for influencing politicians on sustainable energy

We were surprised and delighted to pick up an unexpected award last week from energy minister Lord Hunt.

Forum for the Future was named as the NGO which has done most to drive forward the sustainable energy agenda in Parliament in the “sustainable oscars” awarded by PRASEG, the Parliamentary Group for Renewable and Sustainable Energy.

Surprised, because our work focuses on promoting sustainable development within business and public sector organisations, not on lobbying Parliament for policy change.

Delighted, because the judges clearly felt the wide range of work we do informs sustainable energy policy. PRASEG represents UK politicians and senior industry figures and promotes sustainable energy issues in Parliament and wider politics.

The Forum was singled out for showing “thought leadership in their projects on various energy issues” by BBC Environment Correspondent Sarah Mukherjee, who hosted the evening. She gave three examples.

First, the FT Climate Change Challenge, a global competition to find the best innovations designed to tackle climate change, which we ran with the Financial Times and HP. We set out to showcase promising new ideas and to raise the profile of green innovation and what it can achieve. The winner, which received worldwide coverage, was a solar-powered oven which aims to transform the lives of millions of people who rely on firewood to cook. It’s due to launch next year in four regions.

Second, our project on sustainable procurement in the oil and gas industry, carried out under our Engineers for the 21st century programme. We believe smart procurement can play a huge role in reducing energy use, and we’ve just launched a new tool which allows organisations to assess CO2 emissions and their costs when working out the lifetime costs of a product.

And third, she also mentioned our range of inspiring publications, specifically Jonathon Porritt’s Living Within Our Means, which highlights the link between the economic crisis and the climate change crisis.

But she could have mentioned much more.

We use our Climate Challenge to help our partners develop strong carbon management strategies. We have worked with companies as diverse as EDF, Cadbury, Vodafone and John Laing, helping them explore and tackle their full climate impact and understand the contribution they must make to society’s carbon reduction goals.

Almost half of all English farmers are aware of our Farming Futures project. It aims to get farmers up to speed with how climate change will affect their business and encourages them to generate renewable energy on their land.

Our magazine Green Futures, which is distributed to every MP, pays close attention to the latest developments in sustainable energy as part of its remit to lead the debate on how to achieve a sustainable future.

In Bristol, our Refit West project aims to pioneer a practical model for home energy efficiency refurbishments, which can be rolled out nationwide. We want to develop cost-effective mechanisms which can significantly reduce the emissions from our existing housing stock.

Some change you can measure, like the number of members of our West of England Carbon Challenge, which offers support and guidance to organisations which have committed to cutting their carbon footprints by 10% by 2012.

But it’s harder to tell when you’re influencing people’s thinking. Which is why it’s so welcome to receive an award like this from Parliament’s leading specialists in sustainable energy.