News

Download Press Release as PDF (right click)

On Saturday 31st March at the Sydney Opera House, the WWF Earth Hour Awards celebrated the outstanding efforts of everyday Australians going ‘beyond the hour’ for the planet, with schools, businesses and individuals taking action for a more sustainable future.

Collectively, we face some difficult environmental challenges, from climate change to loss of biodiversity to population pressures and resource depletion. However we have the ingenuity and creativity to change the way we live.

The Futuremakers Award is for outstanding individuals thinking outside the box and implementing big, bold, creative ideas and initiatives that will transform our future.

In 1996 Dr. Robert Dane, winner of the 2012 Futuremakers Award, saw a solar boat race that changed his life. By the next year, he had designed and built a solarsailing boat of his own, using the most abundant sources of energy on water: sun and wind. Now operating in Newcastle, the SolarSailor ferry has inspired others to approach Dr. Dane for similar vessels in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The operation has this year led to the development of a renewable energy powered unmanned drone along with a feasibility study for the use of SolarSail technology for bulk cargo transport. BBC’s Tomorrow’s World described SolarSailor’s technology as “possibly the greatest revolution in boats since the advent of steam.

“We need to recognise that the challenge we face is nothing short of a crisis which will require the best minds, the boldest ideas and the strongest wills in order to succeed.”

Dermot O’Gorman, CEO WWF Australia.

Hosting a WWF Earth Hour Cruise on board the SolarSailor catamaran, Dr Robert said: “It is a great honour to receive this prestigious award from an outstanding field of entrants. Thank you to the judges and the WWF. The ideas celebrated tonight show we can achieve a sustainable future. I believe shipping will go back to the future and harness the energy available at sea like the sailing ships of old, but in a new way, using solar sails that capture both sun and wind energy.”