Plastic Free Awards
Plastic Free Awards
Plastic Free Awards

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About

The Plastic Free Awards is the coolest environmental awards out there. The ceremony brings together leaders from the anti-plastics movement and recognises champions from all walks of life including young campaigners, community leaders, small businesses, charities, designers, entrepreneurs, sports clubs and schools, with a shared mission of stopping plastic pollution. Founded by Surfers Against Sewage and the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation in 2019, the Plastic Free Awards is an environmental awards ceremony, celebrating innovation and activism tackling a range of environmental issues.

Key Dates

Nominations Close

31.03.23

Judging

01.06.23

Event

16.06.23

Nominate

Nominations for the Plastic Free Awards are now closed. Check back for more news on the shortlist and our overall winners soon!

Categories

Ocean Activist of the Year

Ocean Activist of the Year

Who is leading the charge in addressing in environmental issues; be it climate change, water quality, plastic pollution or rewilding? Are you the activist we’re looking for?

Best Campaign

Best Campaign

What single campaign or project inspires you the most? Do you know of a campaign or project that you think brings about real change? What campaign are you, your organisation or community group most proud of?

Youth Activist

Youth Activist

Do you know someone under 21 who is taking radical action on key environmental issues? Which young voice is winning hearts and minds, and taking the nation by storm?

Innovation and Design

Innovation and Design

What is the best plastic free innovation you’ve seen? Nominate inventors, businesses, entrepreneurs, designers and big thinkers.

Media Award

Media Award

What print, internet, film and broadcast media is highlighting key issues and success stories to the wider public? Who I continuing relevant conversation at a mainstream level?

Sporting for Change

Sporting for Change

Is your local sports club leading the charge on environmental issues? From community football club to Olympic Champion, who is changing attitudes towards environmental protection.

Business Leader

Business Leader

Have you got a high street full of plastic free options? Refill stores, greengrocers, butchers, bakers – we want to know who’s doing a brilliant job of freeing your community from single-use plastics.

Change Maker

Change Maker

Researchers, scientists, academics, institutions, are stepping up to provide solutions to everyday environmental issues. Nominate the best ones you’ve seen here.

Plastic Free Creative

Plastic Free Creative

Who has raised awareness of environmental issues through their creative medium? Do you know someone who has composed a song, written a story or produced artwork to inspire people to take action on plastic? Nominate musicians, sculptors, painters, authors and other creatives?

Events and Festivals

Events and Festivals

More and more events and festivals are reducing their footprint. From local deposit return schemes on cups to straw-free festivals, we’ve seen it all and we’d love to know your favourite!

Community Award

Community Award

Communities in villages, towns and cities are coming together to protect the environment. What is the strongest environmental community movement you know?

Schools Champion

Schools Champion

Which school is getting straight A’s for their fight against environmental issues?

Judges

Giles Bristow Giles Bristow

Giles Bristow

Lucy Siegle Lucy Siegle

Lucy Siegle

Dan Crockett Dan Crockett

Dan Crockett

Sian Sutherland Sian Sutherland

Sian Sutherland

Paula Owen Paula Owen

Paula Owen

Skye Neville Skye Neville

Skye Neville

Cliff Kapono Cliff Kapono

Cliff Kapono

Gabe Davies Gabe Davies

Gabe Davies

Lauren Davies Lauren Davies

Lauren Davies

Giles Bristow

Giles Bristow

Giles is the new Chief Executive of the national marine conservation and campaigning charity Surfers Against Sewage, and will be joining the team in the summer of 2023.

Before joining SAS, he was the former Interim CEO and Director of Programmes at Ashden. He’s a senior leader and environmentalist with 21 years’ experience gained in commercial, entrepreneurial, community and NGO environments in the energy, food, and ocean systems sectors. He is also a committed RNLI Crew member, enthusiastic sea swimmer, surfer, wing-foiler, and sailor, with a passion for improving the state of the marine environment.

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Lucy Siegle

Lucy Siegle

Lucy is a journalist, independent writer, broadcaster and trustee for Surfers Against Sewage. She specialises in communicating earth science and environmental stories and ethical consumerism.

As a reporter/presenter on BBC1’s The One Show, she has been following the problem of single use plastic and wider ecological issues since the show began in 2007. Her book, Turning the Tide on Plastic: How Humanity (and you) Can Make Our Globe Clean Again was published in 2018. Lucy is also known as an authority on the environmental and social footprint of the global fashion industry, her book ‘To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World’ was the basis for hit Netflix documentary, ‘The True Cost’, for which Lucy was co-executive producer.

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Dan Crockett

Dan Crockett

Dan Crockett is a director at Blue Marine Foundation focused on MPA creation, habitat restoration and ocean governance.

His particular interest is blue carbon and valuing the ocean as a solution to climate change. He speaks broadly on this topic, including at UNFCCC COP27 and the United Nations Ocean Conference 2022. He has played a key role in the establishment of the UK Blue Carbon Forum and sits on the advisory board of Wilder Carbon. A keen freediver and surfer, he is a trustee and treasurer of Surfers Against Sewage. He is also a widely published writer.

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Sian Sutherland

Sian Sutherland

Sian is Co-founder of A Plastic Planet, one of the most recognised and respected organisations tackling the plastic crisis and PlasticFree, the first materials and systems solutions platform, empowering the 160m global creatives to design waste out at source.

Igniting social change, creating brands and businesses with soul is Sian’s passion. Multi-award winner, including Female Marketer of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and British Inventor of the Year; Sian is a serial entrepreneur with varied background across industries.

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Paula Owen

Paula Owen

Paula has a PhD in atmospheric science and has spent her career in the environmental sector educating people about the issues and persuading them to change behaviours.

She founded eco action games - B Corp accredited since 2019 - a decade ago to find a novel way to engage and inspire people into taking action through the power of fun & games.

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Skye Neville

Skye Neville

Since winning the 2021 Youth Activist Plastic Free Award 12 year old Skye has continued with her campaign to remove cheap plastic toys from comics and magazines.

With over 66,000 supporters the campaign is now known as KAPtat - Kids Against Plastic Tat and has inspired thousands of children to write letters of support calling for change. Skye has recently returned from 3 months volunteering in Costa Rica as a Marine Plastics Officer learning loads about precious plastic machines, plastic pollution and recycling. Having used her voice to inspire others in numerous magazines and media Skye was honoured to receive the 2023 Young Person Award in the Welsh Government's St David Awards.

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Cliff Kapono

Cliff Kapono

Dr. Cliff Kapono is a professional surfer, ASU professor and journalist. Born on the eastern shores of Hawai‘i, his life involves equal parts science as it does surf.

While contributing several peer-reviewed publications to the fields of molecular bioscience, he has also produced a handful of award-winning films that discuss indigenous activism, ocean conservation, global food security and augmented reality. He has been profiled in publications such as The New York Times, NBC, CBS, Surfer Magazine, and more. Cliff is currently based in Hilo, Hawai‘i and can be found tinkering in the lab when not chasing the best waves on the planet. 

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Gabe Davies

Gabe Davies

Gabe Davies, one of the UK’s most legendary surfers.

Whether it’s his career as a free surfer with Quiksilver or his pioneering explorations of the heaving waves off the west coast of Ireland, Gabe has helped to redefine British surfing on an international and big wave stage. Gabe has been an integral part of the North East UK surf scene since his teens, dedicating his life to mastering the region’s waves and bearing witness to the characters and tales that have done so much to embellish English surfing history. Now working as the Ocean Marketing Manager EMEA at Patagonia Europe, he supports Patagonia to connect with the Ocean community. linking NGOs, Sports, and Surf media, dealers and products.

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Lauren Davies

Lauren Davies

Lauren is an award-winning author, screenwriter, producer, consultant on feature films, surfer and a Trustee of Surfers Against Sewage.

Her 6th book, the environmental children’s story, ‘Little Turtle Turns the Tide’ about ocean plastics was written to help children feel empowered to make a difference to the world. Lauren hopes to do the same through both her work and her actions. She is inspired every day by her 9 year-old son and mini eco hero, Bo Reef.

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Surfers Against Sewage

We are a national marine conservation and campaigning charity.

We have been at the forefront of plastic pollution campaigning for over a decade, empowering hundreds of thousands of beach clean volunteers, founding the Plastic Free Communities movement, delivering award-winning campaigns and helping create positive change including the plastic bag charge and the commitment to deposit return schemes.

Our Mission

To create ocean activists everywhere.

Our vision

Thriving ocean, thriving people.

Our Values

The ever-growing SAS community believes in staying connected with the ocean. To strengthen this bond, we live by four core values, that matter deep down, to us all.

Open

Together, we're passionate, down to earth campaigners, born out of the community, with a deep unrelenting love of the ocean. We believe in building diverse, inclusive and active communities.

Dynamic

We are dynamic, active, energetic doers. From the beaches to the front benches, we bring people together, empowering them to get stuck in and make real change happen.

Authentic

We are human, doing our best. When we don't get things right, we learn from it. We believe in authenticity. You can't fake trust.

Creative

We are creative and entrepreneurial. We move fast, think far and believe the future is bright. From our humble home, we make waves (of all shapes and sizes) to improve our greatest gift. A healthy ocean = a healthy society.

For more information and to join the movement visit:

www.sas.org.uk

Founders

SAS

We're a community dedicated to the protection of oceans, waves, beaches and wildlife. We fight long and hard to protect what we love and we won't stop until it's completely clean, safe and protected for everyone, forever. From humble beginnings in Porthtowan Village Hall in 1990, we've stayed close to our roots and continue to be based just up the road at our St Agnes HQ where we can keep an eye on the sea.

Iceland

IFCF has donated over £30m to good causes in the UK in the last 20 years. Through our 'Dementia: let's beat it' campaign we have focused on fundraising for dementia research, donating £10m to help fund construction of the new UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, £5m to Alzheimer's Research UK and £1.5m to Alzheimer's Society. Our 'Backyard Nature Campaign' has inspired 750,000 hours for children in nature. Our work with Sepsis Trust has seen the development of two life saving campaigns 'Schools Against Sepsis' and 'Sepsis Savvy'. We are delighted to continue our partnership with Surfers Against Sewage via these awards and as lead partner of the Million Mile Clean.
www.ifcf.org.uk

Sponsors

Knight Frank
Iceland

Event

More information about the event will be announced soon.

Connect

Surfers Against Sewage
Wheal Kitty Workshops, St Agnes, Cornwall, TR5 0RD

01872 553 001 Email Instagram Facebook

Registered in England and Wales No. 2920815
Registered Charity in England and Wales No. 1145877

© 2020 Surfers Against Sewage. All Rights Reserved

Not long left!

There’s not long left to nominate, entries close on 26th March! When you submit a nomination, your name will be automatically entered into our free prize draw to win a Firewire surfboard. Don’t miss out, nominate today!

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