Quarry Life Award 2016

HeidelbergCement receive more than 450 project proposals to promote species diversity in quarries

AT close of play on the 1 March deadline for entries to the 2016 international Quarry Life Award, more than 450 candidates – 15% more than last time – from 22 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania had submitted a project proposal focusing on biodiversity protection  and management in one of 69 participating quarries.

Launched in 2012 by HeidelbergCement and its national companies, this third edition of the biennial award scheme has again raised strong interest from students, researchers and conservation groups, whose ideas are now being assessed by national juries made up of representatives from national authorities, universities, NGOs, and HeidelbergCement general managers.

The juries will select the five best projects in each national contest that will continue to the research period. For those selected, the real work will start in April. From then until the end of September, the selected candidates and teams will carry out fieldwork research to validate and develop their ideas. Nearly 100 projects will be rolled out across four continents.

For each national competition, the top three projects will be awarded prizes of €1,500, € 3,000 and €5,000 in November 2016. At the same time, an international jury will follow up and judge the participants to reward the best projects from an international perspective.

The international jury will award €10,000 to the best project in each category: Habitat & Species Research; Biodiversity Management; Education & Awareness Raising; Beyond Quarry Borders; and Student Class Project. In addition, a grand prize of €30,000 will be granted to the best overall project at the international award ceremony that will take place in Brussels in December 2016.