Ashden is a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based charity that works in the field of

sustainable energy Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the e ...

and

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

. Its work includes the annual Ashden Awards, advocacy and research in the field of sustainable energy, and mentoring and practical support for award winners. Sarah Butler-Sloss created the awards in 2001, from the Ashden Trust, one of the

Sainsbury Family The Sainsbury family (also Lord Sainsbury and family and incorrectly the Sainsbury's family) founded Sainsbury's, the UK's second-largest supermarket chain. Today, the family has many interests, including business, politics, philanthropy, arts, and ...

Charitable Trusts. In 2011 the charity changed its working name to Ashden, with its full name registered with the

Charity Commission The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. Its counterparts in Scotland and ...

being 'Ashden, Sustainable solutions, better lives'.

About the Ashden Awards

Ashden rewards promotes local

in parts of Europe and the developing world through its annual Ashden Awards. Awards are given to organisations and businesses that deliver local, sustainable energy schemes with social, economic and environmental benefits. Awards are provided across several different categories, including UK and international awards. Awards for sustainable travel schemes have been provided since 2012. Each award includes a cash prize.

The Awards ceremony

The Ashden Awards ceremony is held annually at the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. Previous hosts include broadcasters

Emma Freud Emma Vallencey Freud (born 25 January 1962) is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator. Early life Freud was born in London on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud (1924–2009) and June ...

Anna Ford Anna Ford (born 2 October 1943) is an English retired journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She first worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television, ITN, and the BBC. Ford helped launch the British ...

John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh people, Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter of the ''BBC Nine O'Clock News, Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until ...

and

Jonathan Dimbleby Jonathan Dimbleby (born 31 July 1944) is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, author and historian. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of television presenter David Dimbleby. ...

and environmental journalist

Mark Lynas Mark Lynas (born 1973) is a British author and journalist whose work is focused on environmentalism and climate change. He has written for the ''New Statesman'', '' The Ecologist'', ''Granta ''and ''Geographical ''magazines, and ''The Guardian' ...

. Guest speakers in recent years have included

Kandeh Yumkella Alhaji Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella (born July 5, 1959) is a Sierra Leonean agricultural economist, politician who served as a member of parliament and Chair of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security un ...

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, Sir David King,

Wangari Maathai Wangari is a name of Kikuyu origin that may refer to: * Wangari Maathai (1940–2011), Kenyan environmental and political activist * Catherine Wangari Wainaina (born 1985), Kenyan beauty pageant contestant * Margaret Wangari Muriuki (born 1986), K ...

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South, formerly ...

, (the then UK Secretary of State for International Development), Dr RK Pachauri, Chair of the UN

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World Met ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

, (leader of the Conservative Party) and Lord May of Oxford, (former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government).

Support programmes

Ashden provides a package of support for organisations after they win their awards. It also runs 'LESS ', a peer-to-peer mentoring programme for schools to learn from each other about energy saving. In 2011 Ashden helped set up the Ashden India Renewable Energy Collective, made up of Ashden Award winners working in India. The collective works to end

energy poverty In developing countries and some areas of more developed countries, energy poverty is lack of access to modern energy services in the home. In 2022, 759 million people lacked access to consistent electricity and 2.6 billion people used dangerous a ...

in India by acting as a unified voice for the sustainable energy sector.

Ashden seminars and conferences

Ashden also holds specialist seminars and conferences bringing together their award winners with practitioners, academics, and those who make or influence policy. Examples of recent seminars include one held at

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

and another held at

DFID The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

List of winners

The Ashden Awards have been presented to 205 organisations, including NGOs, businesses, local governments and schools.

References

External links

* {{Energy in the United Kingdom, nongovorg Environmental awards Sustainability organizations Energy in the United Kingdom Charities based in London