TOKYO -- This year marks the 33rd awarding of the Blue Planet Prize, the international environmental award sponsored by the Asahi Glass Foundation, chaired by Takuya Shimamura. Every year, the Foundation selects two recipients, individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to the resolution of global environmental problems. The Board of Directors has selected the following 2024 Blue Planet Prize laureates.

1. Professor Robert Costanza (USA & Australia) born on September 14, 1950, in the United States
Ecological Economics at the Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London

In a groundbreaking 1997 paper, Professor Costanza and colleagues demonstrated, for the first time, that the ecosystem services provided by nature to humans far exceed the economic value of the world's GDP at that time. This work brought global attention to the previously understated importance of ecosystem services. As a co-founder of ecological economics, a new field of study that recognizes that the economy is embedded in society and a finite biosphere, Professor Costanza actively advocates for an ecologically sustainable, wellbeing society.

2. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
Established on April 21, 2012, IPBES secretariat: Bonn (Germany)

IPBES is the leading global authority on the state of knowledge and science about biodiversity, ecosystem services and nature’s contributions to people. Their landmark Reports facilitate better science-informed policy and action across scales, sectors, and knowledge systems. As growing numbers of companies also start to evaluate, disclose and improve their impact on the environment, businesses are also using the IPBES Reports to help shape their corporate sustainability strategies and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) activities.

Each recipient is presented with a certificate of merit, a commemorative trophy, and 500,000 US dollars in prize money.

· The Award Ceremony is scheduled on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at Tokyo Kaikan. Commemorative lectures will be given on October 24 and 26, 2024, at the University of Tokyo and at Kyoto University, respectively.