Nollywood actress, Ibinabo Fiberesima, has announced the launch of the first ever Nigeria Environment Award.
Billed to take place in October, the award would honour state governments, corporations and individuals who have maintained a healthy, cleaner and sustainable environmental lifestyle.
Speaking at the launch attended by PREMIUM TIMES and other journalists on June 5, the 45-year-old actress said the award would recognise individuals who are environment-friendly and have ‘gone green’, just as it will inspire others to go green.
The award categories include but are not limited to the following: Sustainable Banking Industries, Recycling/Upcycling Industries and best collaboration for environmental sustainability.
Other categories are: Renewable Energy Sector, Best State Government with sustainable urban renewal projects and Best State Government with Ecological Solutions
Prior to this time, Fiberesima has been organising Miss Earth Nigeria, an environmentally themed beauty pageant that started in 2002.
Fiberesima said her company, Serendipity Media, formed Miss Earth Foundation with a focus on environmental conservation and sustainable ecosystem management.
Speaking on the inspiration behind the initiative, Fiberesima who is also the President/National Franchise Director of Miss Earth Nigeria said:
“A lot of state governments have a Ministry of Environment but nothing seems to matter to them until something drastic happens, then they would start to run around. But we as individuals need to care about ourselves.
“So, we decided to honour those that have starting doing it, so that others can also get involved. There are a lot of recycling firms all around Nigeria today begging people to bring plastic to them and get paid. That way these supposedly waste products can be reprocessed to recover their value.”
She maintained that to improve the living standards of its citizens, MENEA would not relent on campaigns on environmental issues.
