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Global Environmental Citizen Award

2008 Global Environmental Citizen Award Recipients: Kofi Annan and Alice Waters

February 3, 2008

Photos: Laurie Rhodes

Event Press Release
Coporate Council Award Press Release
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NEW YORK, New York (February 3, 2008)—Former Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Chez Panisse Owner and Founder Alice Waters will receive the 2008 Global Environmental Citizen Awards from Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment today.

“We are proud to honor two great environmental leaders this year, each with a vision of a healthier, more sustainable world,” said Eric Chivian, MD, who shared the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize and is director of the Center. “Our event this year is focused on the challenge of feeding a growing world population sustainably, and both Kofi Annan and Alice Waters are meeting this challenge head-on by working to create food systems that provide nourishment and health, and protect the environment upon which agriculture depends.”

Kofi Annan consistently recognized throughout his tenure as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997 to 2006) that protecting the environment plays a central role in sustainable development. Examples of his leadership include: launching the UN’s Global Compact Initiative in 1999 to create a framework of business standards that promote corporate social responsibility, calling for the ground-breaking Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), and catalyzing the Millennium Declaration adopted by world leaders present at the UN Millennium Summit. In 2001, Mr. Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the United Nations.

Since leaving his post as Secretary-General, Mr. Annan has continued to commit himself to some of the world’s most challenging environmental issues. He is Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, a partnership working across the African continent that aims to dramatically increase the productivity, food security, and incomes of small-scale farmers, while safeguarding the environment. Mr. Annan also serves as the President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, which brokers partnerships that tackle the humanitarian impacts of climate change, such as protecting vulnerable communities.

“It is an honor to receive this award from a group that has worked tirelessly to make clear the connections between the health of the world’s people and the health of the environment they live in,” says Annan. “The climate is changing and we must all do what we can to ensure a successful future based on sustainability. The achievements of the Center and Alice Waters demonstrate how individuals and organizations can make a difference.”

Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant and Café in Berkeley, California, is one of America’s most influential chefs, as well as a pioneering advocate for sustainable agriculture and local, seasonal foods. Her enduring philosophy of serving only the highest quality, most delicious seasonal foods is evident in Chez Panisse’s daily changing menu and its network of farmers and ranchers dedicated to sustainable agriculture.

Ms. Waters’ belief that an understanding of food’s path from farm to table can awaken our senses and provide a transformational experience has also formed the basis of her educational work. In 1996, she founded the Chez Panisse Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports educational programs that use food traditions to nurture, educate, and empower youth. The Foundation’s primary initiative is The Edible Schoolyard, an organic garden and kitchen classroom at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California. Students participate in all aspects of tending the land, harvesting their crops, and preparing and sharing fresh food. The Edible Schoolyard has also served as a model for a growing movement of school gardens across the country, with more than 1,000 in existence today.

“I am delighted to receive the 2008 Global Environmental Citizen Award from those at the Center who clearly understand that food is the most personal and direct way people interact with the environment on a daily basis,” says Alice Waters. “We share a common goal of educating people about making food choices that are not only healthful and delicious but are good for the environment. I would also like to congratulate my fellow award recipient Kofi Annan whose work is a true inspiration to us all.”

The Global Environmental Citizen Award is presented annually by the Center for Health and the Global Environment to individuals who have been world leaders in protecting the global environment. The ceremony will be held February 3, 2008 in New York City. Due to Mr. Annan’s mission in Kenya, Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, is accepting the Award on Mr. Annan’s behalf.

The Center’s 2008 Corporate Council Award will also be presented at the event in recognition of the HeinzSeed Program’s leadership in international sustainable agriculture.

“We are honored that the HeinzSeed Program is being recognized by Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, alongside the impressive work of Kofi Annan and Alice Waters,” said Bill Johnson, Chairman, President and CEO of the H. J. Heinz Company. “Heinz is committed to expanding its program to share our unparalleled seed technology and introduce sustainable farming techniques to developing nations. We are gratified that our program is helping to raise the standard of living for farmers while improving their environmental stewardship.”

The event will feature local, sustainable cuisine prepared by award-winning master chefs Dan Barber of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns; Mary Cleaver of The Cleaver Co.; Michel Nischan of The Dressing Room; Ana Sortun of Oleana; and Kate Zuckerman of Chanterelle. The event will also feature eco-friendly fashion by Stewart+Brown.

PITTSBURGH, Penn. (Jan. 28, 2008) — The HeinzSeed program will receive the Corporate Council Award from Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment during a gala celebration on Sunday, Feb. 3, in New York City. Through this program, H. J. Heinz Company promotes sustainable agriculture in developing nations.

“We are impressed with the HeinzSeed Program’s contribution to sustainable agriculture,” said Eric Chivian, MD, director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment, and a 1985 co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. “The program is proof that the pursuit of profit does not have to be at odds with social responsibility. Rather, when done right, it can produce beneficial results for all of society.”

The goal of HeinzSeed is to help farmers improve their quality of life while reducing the negative environmental impact of over-reliance on chemical pesticides and fertilizers and conserving limited water resources. Created using traditional breeding techniques, Heinz seeds allow farmers around the world to produce high yields of quality tomatoes without genetic modification.

The program has been particularly successful in China, where Heinz has worked with the country’s largest tomato processor and government officials to identify tomato varieties that thrive in Chinese soil and climate. Heinz has taken a similar approach in Egypt and the Ukraine. The company has recently begun a partnership with the United States Agency for International Development for a program in the economically distressed Upper Nile region of Egypt. Heinz is now working with a local NGO to organize Egyptian farmers into cooperatives to achieve economically successful and sustainable production of tomatoes for processing.

“We are honored that the HeinzSeed Program is being recognized by Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment,” said Bill Johnson, Chairman, President and CEO of the H. J. Heinz Company. “Heinz believes that by sharing our unparalleled seed technology and introducing sustainable farming techniques to developing nations we will make a positive economic and environmental impact.”

Program Sponsors

Stewart+Brown | Swiss Re | Paula Hayes

Table Sponsors

Silent Auction Sponsors

Gift-in-Kind Sponsors

Additional Sponsors

Vineyard Brands | Cono Sur Vineyards and Winery

Acknowledgements

Program Design: ES Design

Jim Sardonis, sculptor of the Global Environmental Citizen Award Statues

Volunteers: Andrea Baird, Jill Baumgartner, Dustin Grzesik, Lisl Hacker, Annie Hollister, Brian Knudsen, Brian Omwega, Brian Robinson, Joanne Sum-Ping, Sarah Zielinski.