5th Biophilia Award for Environmental Communication

One award will be given comprising 100,000 euros, a diploma and a commemorative artwork.

In the event that the award goes to a candidature comprising two or more persons, its monetary amount will be divided equally between them.

The BBVA Foundation will deliver the award in full to the winner(s) at a public ceremony convened for this purpose. The prize money may be spent at awardees’ discretion.

The award will be subject to the withholding and other taxes stipulated in current legislation, which will be deducted from its monetary amount.

3.1. Candidatures

Natural or legal persons of any nationality engaging professionally in any facet of environmental communication.

Joint entries will be accepted from two or more natural and/or legal persons that have made collaborative contributions in environmental dissemination and communication.

Candidatures may be direct, submitted by the interested parties, or indirect, with other natural or legal persons presenting letters of nomination.

3.2. Submission period and procedure

Submissions must be completed by May 31, 2023 at 12 noon (Spanish standard time). All documentation should have been sent in full no later than this date and time.

Entries should be submitted through the email address biophilia-award@fbbva.es with the name of the first candidate by alphabetical order stated in the subject line.

All documentation must be presented in English, with the exception of the materials substantiating the communication or dissemination activity, which may be submitted in other languages, accompanied by a short summary in English.

Any materials that cannot be attached or electronically identified should be sent by postal mail, with the name of the candidature clearly stated, to the following address:

BIOPHILIA AWARD
FOR ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION
Fundación BBVA
Paseo de Recoletos, 10
28001 Madrid, España

3.3. Required documentation

Entries should include the following documentation:

1. A duly completed entry form, signed by the person(s) presenting the candidature (downloaded from this website).
2. A description of the communication and dissemination activities (max. five A4 pages).
3. In the case of natural persons, a copy of the candidate(s)’ curriculum vitae.
4. Copy of or link to the communication and dissemination activities of most significance and impact (up to a maximum of five). Where relevant, candidates are urged to provide some indication of the audience figures reached.
5. Copy of letters of nomination or (as the case may be) letters of support, up to a maximum of five. Letters of nomination and letters of support should come from experts or organizations working in nature conservation, the protection of the environment or environmental communication, among them:
   • Representatives and/or members of public institutions and authorities with competences in nature conservation, climate change and environmental communication.
   • Representatives and/or members of associations of media professionals.
   • Scientists and/or experts of acknowledged repute in the areas of communication and the environmental sciences.
   • National and international conservationist organizations.

Letters of nomination or support should be sent directly by their signatories, together with the personal data processing form, to biophilia-award@fbbva.es, with the full name of the candidature appearing in the subject line. Letters should be signed and offer a short reasoned account of the significance and scope of the candidate(s)’ contribution.  Note that the signatories of letters of nomination or support must also be identified in the entry form.

The BBVA Foundation guarantees the confidentiality of all documents, which will be put on file after the award decision and in no event shared with third parties.

3.4. Correction of errors

If the submission contains errors that can be corrected, the BBVA Foundation will inform the candidate or nominator to this effect, granting a non-extendible period of 15 calendar days as of this notification in which to rectify the information, so the entry may be accepted for consideration.

3.5. Incompatibility

No candidate in this call may also submit an entry in the 18th edition of the Biodiversity Conservation Awards.

The selection process will be in the charge of an evaluation committee chaired by the Director of the BBVA Foundation or a person he appoints in his stead, and with from six up to a maximum of ten members designated by the BBVA Foundation, comprising researchers, communicators, experts and professionals of acknowledged repute in the areas of nature protection and the environmental sciences.

The committee will consider all the candidates meeting the requirements of these call conditions, and will arrive at its award decision by reference to the following evaluation criteria:

• Broad social impact and public recognition of the communication activity, preferably on a global or transnational scale.
• Innovation and originality of the communication activities, which may comprise the publication of articles, monographs, multimedia materials or books; the preparation, editing and presentation of reports and documentaries; the design and curation of exhibitions; and projects in any media channel (press, radio, television, film, documentaries or Internet).
• The technical quality of the formats used.

The evaluation committee may decide to merge two or more separate entries when it considers that they have made convergent contributions. In the case of nominations made up of several persons or organizations, it may also elect to confine the award to one or some of its members in recognition of their differential contribution.

The evaluation committee may declare the award vacant.

The evaluation committee’s decision will not be open to appeal.

The membership of the evaluation committee will be publicly disclosed following the award decision.

No itemized or individual information will be provided on the submissions received or the deliberations of the evaluation committee.

The decision in this call will be made public no later than October 1, 2023.

The award will be presented at a ceremony organized by the BBVA Foundation.

By accepting the award, the winner undertakes to attend this presentation ceremony, at which they will deliver a lecture on an environmental topic of their choice.

In the event that the award goes to a legal person, it must furnish the following documents after being notified of the award decision:

• A copy of its bylaws.
• A copy of its tax identification number.
• A statement from its governing body confirming its acceptance of the award.

The fact of participating in this call signifies the acceptance of its conditions and award decision, which will not be open to appeal, and renunciation of any claim of whatsoever nature.

Exceptionally, the BBVA Foundation reserves the right to modify these conditions, for duly justified reasons, to the sole end of clarifying their content, without such changes in any case implying a substantial or arbitrary alteration of the same. The text of these call conditions and of the corresponding FAQs, whose reading we recommend to candidates and nominators, will be available for the duration of this call on the BBVA Foundation website.