The Medinge Group (medinge.org), an international think-tank on branding and business, today releases its eighth annual Brands with a Conscience list. The Group employs yearly awards to support and encourage businesses who demonstrate humanistic, compassionate, sustainable and socially responsible behaviour. The awards may be given to organizations, large or small, for-profit or NGOs, who have come to the attention of the membership and who are deemed worthy of recognition.
   A formalized nomination and voting process occurs between August and December, during which Medinge”s members evaluate, based on their expertise in humanistic branding, the competence and authenticity of each nominee.
   Among this year”s winners are:
• a marine-based alternative energy system, which references conservation of the seas;
• a monolithic government-owned media company encouraging small business and grass roots” endeavour;
• an ethical bank located in one of the troubled EU economies;
• a visionary zero-carbon urban community under construction in the Emirates;
• and for the Colin Morley Award, in the year of the Wikileaks controversy, a not-for-profit organization using the internet as a channel for open distribution of information.
   The Colin Morley Award, a unique category recognizing excellence by an NGO, this year honours TED and its enduring commitment to “ideas worth sharing”.
   Stanley Moss, CEO of the Medinge Group, remarks, “Once again, the BWAC process has identified the most compelling areas of discussion in the current brand universe: alternative energy, grass roots” initiatives, ethical finance, community and social media all figure in the organizations recognized.”
   Jack Yan, one of the directors of the Medinge Group, says, “This is one of those rare times when we see a state-owned enterprise—the BBC—engage in socially responsible behaviour, showing that it is not the structure of the organization that matters, but the strength of its purpose.”

2011 Brands with a Conscience winners

Aquamarine Power/UK
www.aquamarinepower.com
Aquamarine Power’s Oyster tidal energy technology produces electricity from the ocean waves. A demonstration-scale installation has been successfully deployed in Orkney, Scotland, proof that this alternative energy strategy could create sustainable zero-emission electricity, heralding the eventual progression away from dependence on fossil fuels.

BBC World News–Newsweek for World Challenge/UK
www.theworldchallenge.co.uk
Now in its sixth year, World Challenge is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots” level. World Challenge is about championing and rewarding projects casino online and businesses which really make a difference. In making this award, the Medinge Group wishes to acknowledge a channel of mainstream media for using their power and influence to help those under-appreciated organizations in need.

Caja Navarra/Spain
www.cajanavarra.es/en/home.htm
This not-for-profit Pamplona-based bank loaned €3·3 billion and had a net profit of €200 million in 2008. Customers decide the social causes to which profits shall be allocated. There is a policy of complete transparency and exemplary peer-to-peer lending; and bank staff are encouraged to do voluntary work. In an era where banks are regarded with scepticism and disdain, Caja Navarra stands as a model for conscience-driven financial institutions.

Masdar City/UAE
www.masdarcity.ae/en/index.aspx
The world’s first zero-carbon city, designed to be powered by the sun and free of cars and skyscrapers. Projected to accommodate 50,000 people, at least 1,000 businesses and a university. Now under construction, it is being designed by British architects Foster and Partners, funded by the ruler of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Medinge’s Simon Nicholls remarked, “If it works, it will combine 21st-century engineering with traditional desert architecture to deliver safety, health and happiness.”

2011 Colin Morley Award

TED/USA
www.ted.com
TED”s simple credo of “ideas worth sharing” is a concept absolutely core to the philosophy of the Medinge Group. This non-profit organization believes that sharing compelling ideas is the way to change the world. They have created a simple but powerful mechanism for doing it: an 18-minute filmed talk shared for free on the web, an elegant demonstration of the positive power of internet-borne social media which exists in tandem with regular international seminars.

2011 Brands with a Conscience committee
Chairman: Sergei Mitrofánov
Committee: Enric Bernal, Thomas Gad, Sicco van Gelder, Ava Hakim, Pierre d’Huy, Nicholas Ind, Tim Kitchin, Sascha Lötscher, Philippe Mihailovich, Johnnie Moore, Stanley Moss, Simon Nicholls, Simon Paterson, Dmitry Petrov, Tony Quinlan, Anette Rosencreutz, Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, Erika Uffindell, Jack Yan