Sunday Times magazine feature writer Richard Girling has been named environmental journalist of the year for a second year running.
Girling picked up the award, along with a £1,000 cash prize, at the Environmental Journalism Awards – which are organised in association with Peugeot and Press Gazette.
The judges said: “Richard Girling’s input to the environmental debate was yet again an outstanding and compelling contribution, highlighting issues, which are relevant to every household in Britain.
“His writing is stylish as well as persuasive; his knowledge of environmental issues is encyclopaedic, backed up by impeccable research. He writes with quiet authority and formidable impact – a winning combination.”
Environmental story of the year went to Dan McDougall, also with the Sunday Times, for his investigation into Gap clothing factory.
The judges said: “This was a clear exclusive, which exposed how a leading western clothing brand was behaving in a way that could pose a threat to people and environment while flaunting its environmental credentials in the home market. He forced GAP and Levis top executives to sit up and take notice.”
Campaign of the year went to the Express and Echo in Exeter for Green Teams – a project aimed at getting schoolchildren involved in environmentalism.
The judges said: ‘Clearly showing commitment from the editor right the way through the paper’s editorial staff, the campaign followed through in everything it set out to achieve.”
The judges’ special award for the journalism organisation which has done the most to embrace environmental issues went to The Guardian.
The judges said: “For more than a decade the Guardian has been the pioneer in environmental reporting. The newspaper was the first of the national title to employ a dedicated environmental correspondent, and now there are six full time staff on its environment desk. Often they have set the environmental agenda for the British media, and the paper’s commitment to the unfolding debate has been unflagging with a consistently impressive range of output.”
The awards were judged by: Paul Charman the head of journalism at the London College of Communications, Anita Syvret of Syvret Media, Justin Rowlatt from the BBC and Chris Shearlock from the Co-Op. They were presented at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons restaurant in Oxfordshire on Wednesday.
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