Acknowledging those who try to make a difference

This year the Mail & Guardian celebrates the sixth anniversary of the Greening the Future awards in the same week as Arbor Week.

The newspaper’s annual awards honour the achievements of companies and organisations that work hard, often going unrecognised, to ensure a better environmental future for our children and the planet.

This year is an important year for the environment.

In December one of the most significant meetings of the millennium so far will take place in Copenhagen to try to tackle climate change.

In South Africa, water issues continue to be a source of great concern and it has become more apparent with each story that water is indeed blue gold.

With the Greening awards, the M&G attempts to heighten awareness of the admirable efforts made by companies and organisations and seeks to provide a forum for discussion on the way forward.

This year an agricultural category had been added as it becomes apparent that sustainable practices in farming will be critical to helping the planet survive.

We salute all our winners and thank them for their contribution to making our world greener.