Banksia Environmental Foundation

				Supported by:
		Presented to the submission that has been deemed to demonstrate significant contribution to understanding, or resolving local or global environmental problems, through research.

The Mercedes-Benz Australian Environmental Research Award provides $30,000 to assist researchers on their path to finding the incredible through sustainable and innovative solutions.

		"We are not only committed to research and development in our vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is committed to fostering development in individuals with the Mercedes-Benz Environmental Australian Research Award, now in its sixth year. Our support aims to recognise and promote Australian researchers or research programs that have made significant contribution to
understanding, or resolving, local or global environmental problems. We encourage the pursuit of excellence, through research and innovation. This underscores our philosophy of environmental sustainability. This philosophy encompasses resource conservation, climate protection measures and environmental management systems." Hans Tempel, President and CEO, Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific Pty

Find out about the 2011 Winner & Finalists

Entering the Mercedes-Benz Australian Environmental Research Award

Please note: There are no fees associated with entering this award

ENTRIES HAVE CLOSED

Before accesing the entry system, please read the information provided below

Quick find:

Use the following links to access specific award information

General Eligibility

Your research must have recent significance, with results shown over the last two years.  The initiative must be primarily undertaken in Australia, or must be shown to have a substantial environmental impact in Australia.  The organisation or individual must not have been prosecuted for a violation of any environmental, social or commercial law in Australia or overseas in the past 12 months.

How to enter the Award

Before submiting an entry in the Mercedes-Benz Australian Research Award you need to do the following:

1. Deciding to enter-

a. make sure that you are eligible (see general eligibility)
c. don't forget to check  the other awards such as the Banksia Category Awards (separate entry required), the Prime Minister' Environmentalist of the Year Award (separate entry required) or the Environment Minister's Young Environmentalist of the Year Award (separate entry required).
Each of these awards have separate entry kits.

2. Access the 2011 Banksia Awards Entry System

a. the Award Entry System should provide you with all the information you require such as:
- submission requirements including entry format and supporting documentation;
- category criteria and
- entry form.
b. You will need to register your information with us when you download any Award Entry Kits. (Please note: you will receive a password which will allow you access the information at all times)
It is important to register for our email newsletter also as this is our method of communicating with you during the Award period to advise of any changes, deadlines or other important information.

3. Make sure you are familiar with the Award timelines.

4. Attend the free Banksia Award Entry Information Sessions which are run nationally in from April to June 2011.

a. the sessions are designed to assist you with preparing your entry providing useful tips.
b. it is a useful forum to get questions answered.

5. Check out the FAQs section

6. If after steps 1 to 6 you have any further questions please contact us.

Contact Details

For all award queries
p: 03 9684 4667
e: award query email
a: Level 1, 40 Albert Road, South Melbourne 3205

Back to Quick Find

Previous recipients

• 2010 - Zero Carbon Australia 2020 Stationary Energy Plan, Beyond Zero Emission
• 2009 - Dr. Amanda Barnard, CSIRO
• 2008 - Professor Matthew England, University of New South Wales
• 2007 - Molectra Technologies
• 2006 - Professor David Lindenmayer, Australian National University

2011 Mercedes-Benz Australian Environmental Research Award

WINNER

Peak Phosphorus: the next global food crisis?

Institute for Sustainable Futures, NSW

"True interdisciplinary endeavours produce more that just the sum of its disciplines – it provides true innovation and progress.
This is the case with this year's winner of the Mercedes-Benz Australian Environmental Research Award.
Peak Phosphorus: the next global food crisis? - brings together disciplines, individual researchers, research groups and international institutes for sustainable futures. It tackles risks to our very survival: food production depends on the use of phosphorus and this initiative provides a full circle of innovation to ensure the security of the global food supply."

The human body needs phosphorus to function and it comes from food, which in turn comes from the phosphorus in soils that enables crops to grow. Population growth, plus intensive farming methods since the 1960's has depleted the phosphorus that occurs in our soils naturally. Today we are dependent on applying concentrated phosphate fertilisers to grow crops. But our main source of phosphorus is running out. Global supplies of concentrated high-grade phosphate rock - which took around 15 million years to develop under the seabed - may soon run out. Peak phosphorus is predicted to occur in the coming decades and no country has a plan for securing sufficient supplies for future food production. Researchers at the Institute for Sustainable Futures created the Global Phosphorous Research Initiative together with Swedish colleagues to respond to the challenges of the impending Global Food Crisis. They are actively investigating innovative solutions to the issue including ways to recover phosphorus from wastewater to reuse as fertiliser as globally we generate around 3 million tons of phosphorus in urine and faeces annually The Institute's considerable body of research into phosphorus futures is contributing to understanding and resolving this global environmental problem.

FINALISTS

43 Years of Little Penguin Research, Phillip Island, Victoria

Phillip Island Nature Parks, VIC

Since the swinging sixties, intrepid researchers at Phillip Island have been monitoring one of the world's largest and most famous Little Penguin colonies – home to the Penguin Parade. What began as volunteers monitoring the penguin colony grew into a world-renowned team of scientists contributing to the understanding and protection of Little Penguins and their ecosystems both on land and at sea. Our research findings have implications for penguins and other seabirds worldwide. We are proud to report that our research programs have directly contributed to saving the last remaining Little Penguin colony on Phillip Island from extinction providing a model for others around the world. Now, over 43 years of baseline data puts us in the unique position of being able to undertake ground-breaking research into important environmental issues and our recent research is focussing on current crucial issues such as climate change, food supply and oil spill rehabilitation.

Kakadu Wetland Burning

Paradise Farm Community, NT

In partnership with CSIRO

The Paradise Farm community of traditional owners have re-applied traditional fire management to the iconic wetlands of World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, dramatically enhancing their natural and cultural values. Traditional ecological knowledge has been used in powerful combination with western science to document and monitor changes in key natural and cultural resources, and innovative communication products have been developed to communicate the outcomes to local communities, the general public, and the international scientific community. Such a partnership between science and traditional ecological knowledge for natural and cultural resource conservation serves as an internationally significant model for joint management of Indigenous conservation lands.

Solution-Processed Nanocrystal Solar Cells

CSIRO, VIC

In partnership with the University of Melbourne

Researchers at CSIRO and the University of Melbourne have developed a new method for manufacturing solar cells using nanocrystal inks. These inks can be printed directly onto a variety of surfaces to create efficient, low-cost solar cells. This technology offers a number of advantages over conventional solar cells including shorter processing times, lower materials consumption and relatively low processing temperatures, making the resulting solar cells compatible with flexible, lightweight substrates such as plastics and metal foils. This invention represents an important step forward in the development of inexpensive, solution-processed solar cells and helps establish Australia as a world-leader in the development of renewable energy sources.