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Iberdrola and the Sustainable Excellence Club have announced the 3^rd International Energy Cooperation Awards. These awards recognise the most outstanding initiatives in international energy cooperation, carried out by companies, public administrations and the tertiary sector, which demonstrate an active commitment to the universalisation of energy. Hence this contributes to achieving the 7th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) under the UN 2030 Agenda, in particular goal 7.1, which aims at achieving universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services.

The 3rd International Energy Cooperation Awards seek to draw attention to the activities carried out by the three groups mentioned which are in the development phase when submitted and which will be implemented on an international scale, with measurable results and which have taken into account the three aspects of energy co-operation: economic, social and environmental. Projects which, as specified by the UN in SDG 7:

• Enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, and advanced and cleaner fossil fuel technologies, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technologies.
• Expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, particularly least developed countries and small developing island states with their respective support programmes.

The deadline for receipt of applications, already in force, will end on 7 October. The rules and access to the competition forms are available on the Sustainability Excellence Club website and from the following link: Rules and Forms

The Award

An award will be granted to the winner of each of the three categories category - private, public administration and the tertiary sector-, which will be delivered during a public event to be held during the last quarter of the year, at which time the jury's decision will be known.

Assessment of the applications will be carried out by a jury of renowned corporate and institutional experts in the field, who will take into account the impact and the value creation of each initiative; the project’s contribution to sustainable development; consistency and long-term duration; replicability of its model; innovative character; international scope; and the existence of clear objectives and monitoring indicators. 

Earlier awards

More than fifty projects have been evaluated in previous editions of the awards. In 2017, the winners were Trama TechnoAmbiental, in the Company category, for its project ‘Rural electrification through hybrid solar microgrids in remote islands of Ghana’; the Instituto Nacional de Eficiencia Energética y Energías Renovables de Ecuador (INER) in the Public Administration category, for its contribution to the ‘Viability of bioethanol production from the enzymatic hydrolysis of the seed shell of Jatropha Curcas’ known as physic nut, and Nexus for Development, in the tertiary sector, for the 'Pioneer Facility' project which provides technical assistance and innovative financial solutions for project developers and social enterprises with the creation of a specific impact investment fund -Pioneer Facility- aimed at access to clean energy in Southeast Asia.

At the first edition (2015), the jury rewarded projects by Suma Capital which, together with AttijariWafa Bank, are responsible for the African Energy Efficiency Fund in Companies; the “Renewable energies for the sustainable development in rural communities and energy generation distribution in Latin America and the Caribbean” by Ciemat in the Public Administration category, and the Fundación Ingenieros de ICAI para el Desarrollo, a non-profit organisation, for its project ‘Renewable Energy Centre in Cameroon’.