E.ON Energy Globe eco-award: vote for one of five finalists until the end of August

Public voting for the E.ON Energy Globe environmental award continues until the end of August, with five projects competing for this year's title, spanning approaches from industrial technology to educational and community initiatives. Anyone can cast a vote on the competition's website, www.energyglobe.cz.

Among the finalists is ENRESS, a project offering technology to recycle hard-to-process plastics and tyres back into raw materials and energy. Already operating at industrial scale, the technology can process thousands of tonnes of waste per year, significantly cutting landfill volumes and CO₂ emissions.

The "School Climate Gardens" project, run by the Brno-based organisation Lipka, shows that environmental care can be instilled from a young age: pupils improve their school grounds themselves, learning to retain water, enhance soil quality and support biodiversity.

The community project "Ratibořice – a sustainable settlement" demonstrates that a comprehensive environmental approach can work even on the scale of a small village, where residents have set up their own energy generation, sensible water use, and active participation in waste sorting and landscape maintenance.

The "Farm School" — the first secondary vocational institution in the Czech Republic fully dedicated to ecological agriculture, with hands-on training at organic farms — is training a new generation of farmers capable of restoring the land and responding to climate challenges.

The fifth finalist, the tech project UpGreen, analyses the condition of urban trees using satellite imagery, helping municipalities plan greenery maintenance more efficiently and boost cities' resilience to climate change.

As in previous years, the final decision rests with the public — voting runs until the end of August. This year's finalist ambassadors include actor Marek Lambora, actress Jitka Čvančarová, skateboarder Maxim Habanec, actor Štěpán Benoni and actress Gabriela Hecklová, while actress Veronika Khek Kubařová remains a longstanding partner of the competition.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony on 5 September in České Budějovice, as part of the E.ON Ekofestival. The main prize from E.ON is 500,000 crowns. The competition's partners also include BDR Thermea (Czech Republic), HORNBACH BAUMARKT CS, Ptáček — velkoobchod, and TRILUX Česká republika.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ekolist.cz