1. The Observer Ethical Awards 2015 (the “Awards”) consist of 9 separate categories (each an “Award Category”), which are each governed in accordance with the General terms and conditions, and the Award Category-specific terms and conditions (collectively, “Terms and Conditions”), specified below. The Award Categories are as follows:
a) Campaigner;
b) Green Briton of the year;
c) Best Ethical Product of the Decade;
d) Arts and Culture;
e) Sustainable Style;
f) Ecover Young Green Champion;
g) Ethical Wildlife Awards;
h) Community Energy Project;
i) Film and Television.
A: General Terms and Conditions
Eligibility
2. Award Category-specific entry requirements can be found in Part B of these Terms and Conditions below. If you have any questions about the nomination process or otherwise in connection with the Awards, please email us at ethical.awards@observer.co.uk with “Observer Ethical Awards 2015” in the subject line.
3. The Awards are not open to employees of Guardian News & Media Limited (“GNM” or the “Promoter”), or GNM’s agencies, family members of such employee or freelance contributors to GNM.
4. Nomination forms for Award Categories a) to i) must be submitted online at observer.co.uk/ethical-awards.
5. A nominator can nominate a person, a group of people (“Group”) or a company, charity or other legal entity (“Entity”) resident or established in the UK which meets the entry criteria for the relevant Award Category. A nominator can nominate him/her/itself. There is no cost of nominating (although normal internet connection charges will apply).
6. Nominations for Award Categories a) to i) open on 25 January 2015 at 12.01am GMT (“Opening Date”), and close at 23:59 GMT on 26 March 2015 (“Closing Date”). Nominations received outside this time period will not be considered. GNM reserves the right in its absolute discretion to extend the Closing Date where the nominations received are of insufficient quality or quantity.
7. Each nominator can only nominate a particular person, Group or Entity once for each category, but can submit multiple nominations for different persons or Entities in each category. A nominator can nominate a person, Group or Entity in more than one category.
8. Nominees are responsible for all incidental costs of participating in the Awards.
9. Any Entity or Group that (a) has ceased trading or is subject to liquidation, administration or similar proceedings; (b) has been subject to a change in management, ownership or control since their nomination; or (c) cannot be located or contacted by GNM; shall be disqualified and shall not be eligible for an Award.
10. Nominees warrant that they own all intellectual property rights, including copyright, in any material submitted as part of their Award entry (“Entry Material”). If another person has photographed/filmed/written Entry Material, the Nominee warrants that it has received an assignment of all associated intellectual property rights including copyright to that Entry Material from that person. The Promoter may ask to see evidence of that assignment at any time.
11. By participating in the Awards, and in consideration of the chance to win an Award each nominee grants GNM a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide licence to republish the entry without restriction in any and all media, including in electronic format and hard copy, and including on theguardian.com.
12. Entry Material must be original, not be copied, must not contain any third-party materials and/or content that it does not have permission to use, must not promote any goods or services or include any trade marks (other than those belonging to the Promoter or those included incidentally), or otherwise be obscene, defamatory, distasteful, offensive, or in breach of any applicable law or third party rights.
13. We may disqualify an entrant or nominee for the following reasons: the entry/nomination does not comply with these Terms and Conditions; the entrant/nominee has not obtained the consents detailed above; the entrant/nominee is not eligible to enter the Awards; or the entrant/nominee cannot be contacted. In the event of disqualification, we may select new shortlisted entrants or winners in accordance with the selection processes outlined below.
Some other rules
14. The winners of each Award Category will be published on GNM’s website on or before 3 July 2015.
15. The winners may be required to take part in promotional activity related to the Awards. Entrants grant GNM the right to use their name, image and county of residence for the purpose of identifying them as winners.
16. GNM accepts no responsibility for any damage, loss, liabilities, injury or disappointment incurred or suffered by an entrant as a result of entering the Awards or accepting a prize. GNM further disclaims liability for any injury or damage to a nominee, nominator, or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participation in or downloading any materials in connection with the Awards. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall exclude the liability of GNM under law for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for death or personal injury resulting from its negligence.
17. GNM reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Awards, or to change the judging panels, with or without prior notice due to reasons outside its reasonable control (including, without limitation, in the case of anticipated, suspected or actual fraud). The decision of GNM in all matters relating to the Awards is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
18. GNM shall not be liable for any failure to comply with its obligations relating to the Awards where the failure is caused by something outside its reasonable control.
19. The Awards and these Terms and Conditions will be governed by English law and entrants to the Awards submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
20. Promoter: Guardian News & Media Limited, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU.
B: Award Category-Specific Conditions
Eligibility
21. Except for Award Category (f), nominees must be over 18. Award Category (f) is open to any nominated person or group of persons, who is each under 18 years of age at the Closing Date, and who each has the consent of their parent or guardian to enter, and whose parent or guardian has agreed to these Terms. GNM may request proof of eligibility, and of the consents and agreements detailed above, and may disqualify any entrant who fails to provide such proof.
Picking the shortlist and winners
Shortlisting
22. A panel of judges will produce a shortlist of possible winners from all eligible nominees in each Award Category. Shortlisted nominees for Award Categories (a) to (c) will be contacted on or before 19 April 2015, and shortlisted nominees for Award Categories (d) to (i) will be contacted on or before 18 May 2015, to confirm their shortlisting. Shortlisted nominees shall provide any requested additional Entry Material to support their Entry.
23. If a participant does not respond to GNM within 7 days of being notified of their short listing, GNM shall be entitled to select another shortlisted entrant. If a winner or shortlisted nominee rejects their prize or entry, or the entry is invalid or in breach of these terms, the winner’s prize or place on the shortlist will be forfeited and GNM shall be entitled to select another winner or shortlisted entrant.
24. The judges reserve the right to transfer Entrants into categories that they consider more suitable, in their discretion.
Award Categories (a) to (c)
25. Between 26 April 2015 and 25 May 2015, members of the public will be able to vote online for their favourite shortlisted nominees in Award Categories (a) to (c) via a page on the GNM website. The winner of each of Award Categories (a) to (c) will be the Nominee who has received the most votes in the online poll. The Promoter will put in place reasonable technical measures with the aim of restricting public votes to one vote per person. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant who, in the Promoter’s reasonable opinion, pays any third party to vote for their Entry or otherwise tampers with the voting process.
Award Categories (d) to (i)
26. A panel of judges appointed by GNM will select one winner for each of Award Categories (d) to (i) from the shortlisted Entries. Full details of the judging process and the names of the judges are available on request to ethical.awards@observer.co.uk.
27. The judges will produce their shortlist, and choose the winner for each Award Category, based on the following criteria:
a) Campaigner of the year:
- Has the entrant put ethical issues on the global agenda?
- Have they made a difference to his/her audience?
b) Green Briton of the year
- Has the entrant inspired their community and conserved their local or global environment?
c) Best Ethical Product of the decade
- Does the product show true innovation and original thinking?
- Has the product made an impact on the behaviour of consumers?
d) Arts and Culture
- Does the entry support ethical values?
- Would the work be inspiring to its intended audience?
- Could this entry have long term effects?
- Does it or could it have broad appeal?
e) Sustainable Style
- What makes the submitted piece sustainable?
- Are ethics and aesthetics balanced?
- What innovative production or design techniques/features does the piece have?
- Does the piece tell a great ethical fashion story?
f) Ecover Young Green Champion
- How ethical is this idea/ project?
- How would the prize money be used?
- Does this idea/ project show innovation and measurable impact?
- Does this project inspire others and have general appeal?
g) Ethical Wildlife
- Has the entrant made a real impact on the preservation of UK wildlife?
h) Community Energy Project:
- How ethical is the project?
- How far is it going to reduce energy on a community basis?
- Is it innovative, how easily could it be replicated and developed and does it inspire others and have general appeal?
i) Film and Television
- Has the entrant implemented best practice for sustainable production?
- Has the entrant effectively communicated sustainability to stakeholders?
- Has the entrant achieved a measured carbon reduction?
28. The decisions of the judging panels for each Award Category are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
29. In the event that a winner cannot be contacted within two (2) weeks of the Awards Ceremony (detailed below) or rejects the Prize, GNM reserves the right to disqualify the entry and select an alternative entrant as a winner in accordance with the process set out in these terms and conditions. GNM can repeat this process any number of times until it has identified a winner.
The Prizes
30. All shortlisted nominees for each Award Category or one representative of each shortlisted entry (as applicable) will be invited to an awards ceremony in London on 2 July 2015 where the winners of each Award Category will be announced. Each shortlisted entrant will be entitled to bring two guests to the ceremony, who in the case of an Entrant aged under 18 years of age, must be aged 18 or over.
31. Entrants are responsible for the cost of their travel and accommodation arrangements to attend the Award Ceremony.
32. If an Award winner is unable to travel to the Awards ceremony for any reason, they will remain eligible to win the Award.
33. The winner of Award Category (f) will, subject to its compliance with the provisions of this clause, receive a grant of £2000 in each of October 2015, October 2016 and October 2017, totalling £6000, which must be used for the project in respect of which the Award was granted (“Project”). The grant is provided directly by Ecover. In consideration of receipt of the grant, the winner must provide Ecover with a plan for the Project by the end of the second week of September each year, along with quarterly reports on the Project during the three year grant period. GNM is not responsible for the payment of the grant.
34. The winner of Award Category (h) will, subject to its compliance with the provisions of this clause, receive a grant of £5000 in July 2015, which must be used for the project in respect of which the Award was granted. The grant is provided directly by National Grid. GNM is not responsible for the payment of the grant. National Grid reserves the right to request reasonable supporting evidence to show what the grant will be used for and/or that the grant has been used for the project in respect of which the Award was granted. The winner shall provide such evidence on request.
35. GNM accepts no responsibility for any costs associated with the prize that are not expressly included in the prize.
36. An entrant may win more than one Award Category. The prizes are non-exchangeable, non-transferable and not redeemable for cash or any other prize. The only prizes available are those stipulated above.
37. GNM reserves the right to substitute the prize with an alternative prize of similar or greater value in the event that the original prize offered is not available.
- Entry deadline extended to 26 March 2015 on 16 March 2015.