The Prize Marks 10 Years of Building a Sustainable Future.
July 28, 2023 (Beijing)—Today, the Paulson Institute, in partnership with Tsinghua University, officially announced the top 10 nominations for the 2023 Paulson Prize for Sustainability (the Prize). The Paulson Prize is awarded annually to projects in China that present innovative, scalable, and market-based solutions at the intersection of economics and the environment to tackle the pressing twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Since its launch in 2013, the Prize has strived to accelerate the transition to a net-zero and nature-positive future.
2023 marks a significant milestone as the Prize celebrates its tenth anniversary. The organizing committee has received a record-high number of applications from 28 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across China—with Beijing, Jiangsu Province, Guangdong Province, Shanghai, and Shandong Province leading the list.
Notably, this year’s submissions encompass groundbreaking innovations in some of the most critical areas of sustainability. Submissions hail from diverse fields covering low-carbon technology, clean energy, green buildings and transportation, digital transformation, sustainable supply chains, environmental protections, green finance, and sustainable agriculture, to name a few. They also include innovative models and mechanisms to conserve biodiversity and restore natural ecosystems.
An independent Jury Committee, composed of prominent Chinese and American experts, will further evaluate the shortlisted projects to decide the winner in each category. The Paulson Institute will hold the 2023 Paulson Prize Award Ceremony in late September in Beijing.
Green Innovation
The Paulson Prize Green Innovation category awards solutions that respond to climate change, improve the built environment, accelerate the upgrading of the energy structure and promote low-carbon development to build a future of environmental sustainability and economic growth. This category includes solutions for resource conservation, comprehensive utilization of resources, the circular economy, pollution prevention and control, energy-saving, and emission reduction.
The Top 10 Nominations for the 2023 Paulson Prize for Green Innovation:
- Shaping a Low-Carbon Industry by Innovative Technologies of EV Battery Swapping (NIO)
- Grandblue Waste to Hydrogen Project (Grandblue Environment Co., Ltd.)
- A “Carbon Neutral’ Operations Model: Empowering Low-Carbon Transformation in the Consumer Goods Industry (Danone China)
- Promoting Sustainable Livestock Development through Animal Welfare-friendly Approaches (International Cooperation Committee of Animal Welfare (ICCAW) of China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation)
- The Green Transformation of the Packaging Lifecycle (Beijing Sankuai Online Technology Co., Ltd.)
- Ecological Treatment of Oyster Shell Solid Waste and Green Low-carbon Soil Remediation (Mata Fujian Ecological Technology Co., Ltd.)
- Bank of Qingdao Blue Finance Project (Bank of Qingdao Co., Ltd.)
- Starbucks’ Greener Store Framework: Creating a low-carbon retail environment to lead sustainable consumption. (Starbucks (China) Company Ltd.)
- Xiaomi AIoT + Digital Symbiotic Green Products and Value Chain (Xiaomi Corporation)
- Envision Net Zero Industrial Park (Envision Energy Co., Ltd.)
- China Shengmu: Cultivating the Desert to Make the Oasis Bloom (China Shengmu Organic Milk Ltd.)
Nature Stewardship
The Paulson Prize Nature Stewardship category is designed to attract and encourage solutions that improve the natural environment to meet the urgent challenges of ecological degradation and biodiversity loss and to inspire people to live in harmony with nature. This category recognizes innovative, sustainable, and scalable solutions and mechanisms for protecting and restoring natural ecosystems, biodiversity conservation, and enhancement of ecosystem services.
The Top 10 Nominations for the 2023 Paulson Prize for Nature Stewardship:
- The “Rice-Fish symbiosis “Mode of Qingtian County (Qingtian Development Research Center)
- Protection and Restoration Model for Tidal Wetlands in the Riparian Area of Danjiangkou Reservoir (Henan Danjiang Wetland National Nature Reserve Management Office)
- Delineate and Strictly Adhere to the Ecological Conservation Redlines and Conserve Biodiversity (Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, MEE)
- Qiandao Lake Water Fund (Hangzhou Qiandao Lake Huku Agriculture Tech Company, Ltd.)
- Shenzhen Bay Model for Social Participation in Urban Biodiversity Conservation (Shenzhen Mangrove Conservation Foundation)
- Action on Biodiversity-Alpine Plant Conservation (Beijing Dr. Plant Biotechnology Co., Ltd.)
- The Yellow River Source Department of Three-River-Source National Park Concession Pilot Project (Maduo Yunjoy Nature Culture and Tourism Co., Ltd.)
- Ningxia Desertification Control and Ecological Protection Project (Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Forestry Project Management Center)
- “Follow the Nature, More Than Nature” – Ecological Restoration of the Yangtze River Riverine Wetlands in Nanjing (Management Center of Nanjing Yangtze River Xinjizhou National Wetland Park)
- “Bamboo Forest Carbon Sequestration Technology + Green Finance” Empowering Anji County’s Green Mountains and Clear Waters (Zhejiang A&F University)
For more information, please visit: PaulsonInstitute.org/prize
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About the Paulson Institute
Founded in 2011 by former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., the non-partisan Paulson Institute is based in Chicago, with offices in Washington and Beijing. The Paulson Institute is a non-partisan, independent, privately funded “think and do tank” dedicated to fostering a US-China relationship that serves to maintain global order in a rapidly evolving world. The focus on US-China is dictated by the reality that it is the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world. We operate at the intersection of economics, financial markets, and environmental protection by promoting market-based solutions to ensure green economic growth.
About Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University was established in 1911. With the motto of “Self-Discipline and Social Commitment” and the spirit of “Actions Speak Louder than Words,” Tsinghua University is dedicated to the well-being of Chinese society and world development. At present, the University has 14 schools and 56 departments with faculties in science, engineering, humanities, law, medicine, history, philosophy, economics, management, education, and art. The University now has over 25,900 students, including 13,100 undergraduates and 12,800 graduate students. As one of China’s most renowned universities, Tsinghua has become an important institution for fostering talent and scientific research.
Media Contact:
Jing Wang, Associate Director of Communications
jwang@paulsoninstitute.org