The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index (ND-GAIN) at the University of Notre Dame is accepting applications for the ND-GAIN Corporate Adaptation Prize, which recognizes projects that have made measurable contributions in creating resilience or adaptation to climate change.
Past winners of the prize include PepsiCo, Novartis, Ushahidi, Monsanto and Engineers Without Borders.
This year’s winners will demonstrate meaningful impacts in an emerging economy that decrease vulnerability and increase readiness by enhancing food security, water access, sanitation, coastal protection, ecosystem services, human habitats, infrastructure resiliency or human health, or by improving economic, social or governance function.
Projects must be led by either a multinational corporation or a local corporation working on a project in a lower-income country, and must include collaboration with local partners. Project applications will be judged on their measurable adaptation impact, scalability (relative within their category — multinational or local corporations) and market impact. Prize winners will also be consistent with the University of Notre Dame’s mission.
The judges for this year’s prize include Dan Bena, PepsiCo; Ryan Schuchard, Business for Social Responsibility; Aman Singh, Edelman; Lisa Manley, Edelman; Chris Walker, World Business Council for Sustainable Development; Peter Mulvaney, West Monroe Partners; Carolyn Woo, Catholic Relief Services; Charlie Hough, Novartis; Loren Labovitch, MWH Global; and Dethie S. Ndiaye, Centre Suivi Ecologique.
The prize application is due July 31 (Friday), and the winner(s) and honorable mentions will be announced at an awards event at Climate Week New York in September and to the national and international media.
The simple six-question application can be submitted online at gain.org/nd-gain-prize.
The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index promotes adaptation by identifying the places most vulnerable to extreme weather and changing climate and identifying real-world solutions that can prevent these changes from becoming disasters. Its flagship asset is the free and open-source Country Index, the world’s leading index showing which countries are prepared to handle global changes brought about by overcrowding, resource constraints and climate disruption that ranks countries based on their vulnerability and, uniquely, how ready they are to adapt.
ND-GAIN works with corporate and development leaders to manage risks made worse by climate change. Its efforts include research, measurement and analysis, corporate engagement, and outreach. In addition to the Country Index, ND-GAIN leads an annual State of Corporate Adaptation Survey, to help further collective understanding of best practices, barriers, enablers and strategies to prepare for climate change in the corporate world; awards the ND-GAIN Corporate Adaptation Prize, a yearly prize that recognizes organizations that have made measurable contributions to creating adaptation to climate change; and creates forums for influencers to discuss what is new in adaptation around the globe.
ND-GAIN’s mission is to enhance the world’s understanding of the importance of adaptation and inform private and public investments in vulnerable communities. It is part of the Climate Change Adaptation Program of the University of Notre Dame’s Environmental Change Initiative (ND-ECI), a strategic research initiative focused on “science serving society,” and draws resources from across the campus.
Contact: Joyce Coffee, managing director, ND-GAIN, 574-807-9322, jcoffee@nd.edu