THE award ceremony for Zayed Future Energy Prize, the world's preeminent prize for demonstrated renewable energy and sustainability solutions, will take place during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (January 13-17 2013). It is scheduled to award 5 categories: Large Corporation, Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME), Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), an individual for the Lifetime Achievement Award and up to 5 different high schools from 5 regions across the globe for the Global High Schools Prize. “We are currently working with our research and analyses partners to identify the candidates that will be passed on to the Review Committee, who is scheduled to deliberate on Sept. 9-10, 2012," said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar and Director General of the Zayed Future Energy Prize. “We look forward to sharing the first list of shortlisted candidates with the world," he added. The evaluation of candidates will consist of a four-stage process that begins with the Prize Research and Analysis Partner; Bloomberg New Energy Finance conducting due diligence on all submissions to ensure that they meet the basic criteria of the prize - to advance renewable energy and sustainability through innovation, impact, leadership, and long-term vision. The second stage of the process takes place with the meeting of the Review Committee, comprised of national and international energy and industry experts and faculty members from several educational institutes in the UAE, including Masdar Institute of Science & Technology and UAE University. The committee will assess the candidate submissions in greater detail and select the leading candidates for further evaluation. The third stage of the evaluation process takes place during the Selection Committee meeting, comprised of high-level energy and industry experts, who will select the top finalists. Finally, the winners of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, across all categories will be selected at the fourth stage of the process by its esteemed Jury members, comprised of distinguished world leaders and thought leaders from around the world. All phases are governed by an intricately designed scoring matrix that takes into consideration both the criteria of the Prize and the category it awards. The submission of entries closed last July 16 with a record 579 submissions - an increase of 36 percent over last year and 386 percent over 2009, the first year the Prize was awarded. Submissions and nominations for the 2013 prize came from all over the world. – SG
