“Ethical Markets congratulates all these wonderful Category Winners in the 2017 KATERVA AWARDS! ~Hazel Henderson, Editor”
It’s awards season!
In this Katerva Awards year, we have received and assessed over 500 nominations across our ten categories. Competition was tough and our Experts had to make some difficult choices. While the Awards Council are deliberating to select the single Grand Prize Winner from among the top 10 (to be announced mid-April), we’re pleased to share the 2017 Category Winners with you:
Behavioral Change – APOPO
APOPO is a non-profit organization that trains giant African pouched rats, nicknamed ‘HeroRATs’, to save lives by detecting landmines and tuberculosis by using their impressive olfactory skills.
Economy – Mobisol
Mobisol offers easy-to-use solar home systems for low-income people. These plug’n play systems are quickly installed by locally trained and certified technicians (which furthers employment). An innovative pay-as-you-go scheme allows the customer to pay off the installation, up to over 36 months, using mobile banking services.
Energy & Power – GaN
Gallium nitride has a very low on-resistance, superior fast-switching capabilities, and zero reverse recovery losses which allows for a very efficient power conversion, achieving 98 to 99% efficiency. Applications include electric cars, solar, wind and smart-grid, and high-efficiency power supply.
Environment – CarbonCure
CarbonCure concrete production technology enables concrete to permanently capture carbon dioxide (CO2), while enhancing concrete’s strength and value, upcycling waste CO2 sourced from final emitters such as refineries or fertilizer plants.
Food – Evaptainers
Evaptainers are electricity-free mobile refrigeration units which run at low-cost. Utilizing the phenomenon of evaporative cooling, rather than more energy-intensive vapor compression refrigeration, they are ideal for use in off-grid rural areas with low relative humidity.
Gender Equality – Sustainable Health Enterprises
To affect social, environmental, and economic change, Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE28) utilizes a comprehensive market-based model to manufacture and distribute locally sourced eco-friendly pads, driving job creation and tackling the status quo.
Human Development – Bibak
Bibak has developed CANNY, a modular pod of sensors that contains a metal detector, a georadar and a sensor for vapors from explosives which is a breakthrough combination in the detection field, able to locate even plastic and wooden landmines. It includes a landmine marker, a first-aid kit that meets international demining regulations and water to fight the number one problem of deminers: dehydration.
Materials, Resources & Water – MIT Thin Film Solar Cells
The world’s thinnest solar photovoltaic cells are so light they can sit on a soap bubble and are able to get 400 times more power per weight than silicon-based cells.
Smart Cities – eLichens
eLichens provides unique miniaturized pollutant sensors and cloud software services that can detect, monitor and predict air quality which allow it to benefit from Smart City services that are emerging for managing city’s green spaces & infrastructure, energetics footprint, pollution sources, traffic management and carbon budget.
Transportation – ElectRoad
ElectRoad is paving the way for future clean and safe e-mobility solutions with a unique Dynamic Wireless Electrification System for electric transportation. ElectRoad’s revolutionary technology x removes the energy source (ie. NO battery, chemicals) from the vehicle and powers it wirelessly via minimal infrastructure located under the driving lane.
We would like to use this opportunities to thank all nominees for they great – and so necessary – work, and congratulate all our Category Winners for making it to the top, Best of luck come April!