Jan 13, 2012

AKPBS Nominated for 2012 Zayed Energy Prize


Abu Dhabi, UAE, 12 January 2012 – The Aga Khan Planning and Building Services’ (AKPBS) Building and Construction Improvement Programme (BACIP) is one the finalists of the 2012 Zayed Future Energy Prize. The prize, which will be announced later this month, recognizes and rewards outstanding work in renewable energy and sustainability. A prize of US$ 1.5 million will be awarded to the winner.





BACIP focuses on eight thermally efficient appliances and technologies that help people in poor and remote areas improve the quality of their lives while saving 100,000 tons of CO2 annually. The programme has produced over 50,000 fuel-efficient products, which have been installed in 27,000 households. The programme has benefitted 240,000 people in over 300 villages of the Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral provinces in northern Pakistan. 


The products not only cut energy costs, they also reduce deforestation and the time for fuel wood gathering, which in turn reduces the workloads of women and children while allowing them to generate more disposable household income. BACIP’s products include smoke-free stoves with water warming accessories that circulate warmed water to a plastic cistern, roof-hatch windows that conserve heat and insulation made with local materials. BACIP is the only programme in Pakistan that goes beyond stoves to target the entire energy consumption of households while addressing quality of life issues such as respiratory ailments caused by indoor smoke. Other agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network work on related issues, including reforestation, rangeland rehabilitation, sanitation, health and water management.

The seven finalists in the SME and NGO category were selected from among 1,103 nominations and 425 submissions. The submitted projects are located in 71 countries around the world.

For more information about the BACIP programme, please see the CNN interview with Hadi Husani, Chief Executive Officer of AKPBS Pakistan, as well as http://www.akdn.org/AKPBS andhttp://www.akdn.org/akpbs_pakistan.asp.

The Zayed Future Energy Prize is named after the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates. The master jury includes HE Mohammed Nasheed, President of the Republic of the Maldives; HE Olafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland; HE Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of Masdar; Elizabeth Dipuo Peters, Minister of Energy for South Africa; Hon. Timothy Wirth, President of the UN Foundation and Better World Fund; Dr. Susan Hockfield, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar-award winning actor and environmental activist; Andre Agassi, Founder of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education and Grand Slam Tennis Champion; and Hon. Cherie Blair, Founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation.
For more information about the prize, please see:http://www.zayedfutureenergyprize.com/ 


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