Keep New Zealand Beautiful has announced the return of Aotearoa’s longest running sustainability awards, their annual Beautiful Awards, for 2023.

The Beautiful Awards have been run annually by the not-for-profit organisation for over five decades, providing a benchmark in environmental excellence for individuals, schools, communities, town and cities. Aside from the event being postponed in 2022 due to the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the awards have run continuously since 1972.

The Beautiful Awards 2023 will consist of 12 different awards across four categories: Individuals, Community, Places and Towns & Cities. They celebrate individuals such as the Young Legends and Tidy Kiwis of New Zealand, as well as the champions of community environmental initiatives, the Most Beautiful Small Town, Large Town and City, the Most Sustainable School, Best Street and even the Best Loo in New Zealand! Thanks to Resene, there will also be a Supreme Award available in the Towns & Cities category, with the winning town or city winning a mural painting valued up to $10,000. A full list of all the awards is listed below.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful CEO Heather Saunderson says, “We’re grateful to be able to offer the Beautiful Awards again this year after a year off. The Awards provide an opportunity to celebrate the many environmental heroes we have across the country and to showcase the environmental and sustainability initiatives taking place in schools, communities and in our towns and cities”.

Keep New Zealand Beautiful is calling on New Zealanders to nominate the people, projects and places that they believe illustrates the height of environmental excellence in Aotearoa.

“This year we’ve made making a nomination to our Towns & Cities awards easier. We want Kiwis throughout the country to tell us what their town or city is doing to strive for excellence in sustainability. By simplifying the entry and nomination process, we hope to give communities an opportunity to rally together and shine a light on the amazing climate, conservation or environmental education projects that have taken place across Aotearoa over the last year,” says Ms Saunderson.

Nominations for the Beautiful Awards are open from Monday 17 July until Friday 21 August 2023, and the winners will be announced at The Beautiful Ball, to be held at Parliament House on Thursday 9 November 2023.

The award categories are listed below:

Individual
This category honours individuals who are environmental heroes in their local communities. Their commitment to the environment is extraordinary and they are outstanding role models.

• Young Legend Award
• Tidy Kiwi Award

Community

This category celebrates the local community and recognises the people, groups and projects that have enhanced the environment in an exceptional way and made New Zealand a better place.

• Community Group Award
• Sustainable Schools Award

Places

This category celebrates the beautiful places across Aotearoa and acknowledges the people, councils and organisations that work so hard to keep them that way.

• Best Loo Award
• Best Street Award, proudly sponsored by Resene
• Kiwis’ Choice Award, proudly sponsored by Resene

Towns & Cities

This category provides the opportunity for New Zealanders to recognise and celebrate their town or city, and to acknowledge the significant contributions their council and communities have contributed to a climate, conservation and/or environmental education project.

• Most Beautiful Large City – Stats NZ Major Urban Area – 100,000 or more residents
• Most Beautiful Small City – Stats NZ Large Urban Area - 30,000 - 99,999 residents
• Most Beautiful Large Town – Stats NZ Medium Urban Area - 10,000 - 29,999 resident
• Most Beautiful Small Town – Stats NZ Small Urban Area – 1,000 - 9,999 residents
• Most Beautiful Towns & Cities Supreme Award, proudly sponsored by Resene.

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