Our judging panel had a difficult task to select the best after the competition attracted more than 70 entries.

The winners of the 10 award categories will be announced at a prestigious ceremony in Leeds on Thursday, May 7.

Television presenter Julia Bradbury will present the event and Climate Change Minister Ed Miliband is to be guest speaker.

Yorkshire Post editor Peter Charlton said: "The judges were impressed with the standard and scale of entries as demonstrated by the strength of the shortlist.

"In this the inaugural year of the awards, there was, however, one exception – the schools category. We were disappointed with the lack of response from schools.

"Surely, if schools and children do not have the environment at the core of their beliefs and interests, society will forever have a difficult task in sustaining green issues near the top of the Government's agenda.

"We do not believe the entry reflects what is going on in our schools, but the poor response does give us cause for concern."

The low number of entries in the School award category, sponsored by Asda, means the winner is already decided – Westfield Sports College, in Sheffield.

Year seven and eight pupils at the college have formed an "Eco Council", which promotes environmentally friendly activities and regularly holds talks on green issues with community groups, forums, police officers, Sheffield Council and local businesses.

Competition is fierce for the titles of Best Environmental Business and Innovation, with five entrants in each category.

Yorkshire and Humber Sustainable Futures Company is sponsoring the Best Environmental Business award, which is contested by organic food company Goosemoorganics, printing company Platinum Print, electronics distributor Premier Farnell, Waterton Park and Walton Hall, and Yorkshire Bank.

The five nominees for the Innovation award, sponsored by Science City York, include the Bioflame company, which has developed a clean burn system to generate renewable electricity from carbon-neutral biomass.

Also in the running are the Standby Saver, a device which prevents energy being wasted while electrical appliances are on standby, and the Meadowhall shopping complex, which collects rainwater and uses it for cleaning, landscaping and flushing toilets.

The other two nominees are the online luggage tracking system Greenbagtag and Yorkshire Air Museum, one of only eight establishments in the UK to trial a system that composts normal organic waste but also meat waste and certain types of non-treated paper.

Five nominees are in the running for the title of Manufacturer of the Best Green Product, sponsored by Wetherby-based document solutions company STS.

The shortlisted companies are Acorn Briquettes, Aquados, Bolsita, Lindum Seeded Turf and Yorkshire Horticultural Supplies.

STS chief executive Peter Langstaff said: "The shortlist is so impressive and diverse, and we are delighted to sponsor the award. Products on the list include an environmentally friendly detergent, briquettes made from manufacturer's hardwood and sawdust waste, bags made from recycled and reclaimed fabrics, grass roof mats which help reduce urban flooding, and peat-free compost."

Three projects are in contention for the Community award, sponsored by Yorkshire Water, including Settle Hydro – Yorkshire's first community-owned hydroelectricity scheme.

The other nominees are the Heaton Woods Trust, which maintains a 10-hectare woodland near Bradford, and Incredible Edible Todmorden, a project to make Todmorden self-sufficient in vegetables by 2018.

Yorkshire Water community affairs manager Anne Reed said: "The quality of the entries certainly underlines the fact that imaginative and innovative ideas have a home in Yorkshire. Although each is fundamentally different, all the entries could improve the quality of life of people who live and work in the region and, as such, deserve recognition.

"Of course, in the end, there can only be one winner but we hope all these ideas are pursued to their full potential."

The Environment Agency is sponsoring the Climate Change award, which will be won by one of three innovative projects.

Silvapower, a producer and supplier of locally-sourced renewable woodchip fuel, is up against the start-up company United Bank of Carbon, which set up a brokerage to enable businesses to pay for rainforest projects, and the Rivers Project, an arts campaign which studies flooding in Yorkshire and the Gujarat region of India.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: "We were impressed with the range of activities across the nominees - from practical projects, financial support and artistic interpretation. It shows how we can all join in to tackle climate change whatever we do in our working, private and family lives."

There are two Built Environment award categories – one for projects costing less than £1m, the other for more expensive schemes – and each has three nominees.

Among the shortlisted entrants for schemes under £1m, sponsored by the Yorkshire Post, is building company Energytek, which has built two homes that require virtually no heating.

The other nominees are Dales Bike Centre, the Yorkshire Dales' only dedicated cycle visitor facility, and Eco Hoardings, which supplies and installs hoardings systems made from recycled and reused plastics, PVC, steel and concrete rather than wood.

Entrants in the Projects Over £1m category, sponsored by accountants Grant Thornton, include Brompton Lakes, a development of 10 lodge-style holiday homes on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.

Also in the running are the York Eco Centre, for environmentally friendly business start-ups, and the Environmental Energy Technology Centre, a zero-carbon project on Rotherham's Advanced Manufacturing Park.

Mark Burke, a partner at Grant Thornton, said: "The nominations on the short-list reflected the high quality and diversity of the excellent submissions received.

"Each of the short-listed projects demonstrated excellence in the integration of environmental issues in their design and build.

"Grant Thornton are very pleased to have the opportunity to sponsor the award and are looking forward to the presentation evening and being able to announce the winner."

The Countryside award shortlist includes the Hassacarr Nature Reserve, disused land transformed by a community group.

The other shortlisted entries are the Castle Howard Estate, which has reintroduced the English partridge, and the Levisham Moor Group, a falconry group which has restored moorland on the North York Moors.

John O'Grady, of award sponsor Northern Gas Networks, said: "The judging panel had a challenging time in comparing the outstanding qualities of each entry against its competitors before making the difficult choice of the category winner."

The identity of the Yorkshire Post Green Champion will be revealed at the awards evening.

Countryfile presenter will host awards eevening

The winners of the inaugural Yorkshire Post Environment Awards will be announced at a presentation evening at the Queens Hotel in Leeds on Thursday, May 7.

The event will be hosted by Sheffield-educated Julia Bradbury, presenter of the BBC1 TV show Countryfile and president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England for the Peak District and South Yorkshire.

Doncaster North MP Ed Miliband will be the guest speaker. He was promoted to the Cabinet in October with responsibility for the newly-created Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Tickets for the awards dinner are now available, priced £55 plus VAT per head.

Contact Jayne Lownsbrough, Editor's Secretary, Yorkshire Post, Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 1RF or email jayne.lownsbrough@ypn.co.uk


THE SHORTLIST


INNOVATION (sponsored by Science City York)
Bioflame
Greenbagtag
Meadowhall
Standby Saver
Yorkshire Air Museum

BEST ENVIRONMENTAL BUSINESS (sponsored by Yorkshire and Humber Sustainable Futures Company)
Goosemoorganics
Platinum Print
Premier Farnell
Waterton Park Hotel and Walton Hall
Yorkshire Bank

MANUFACTURER OF THE BEST GREEN PRODUCT (sponsored by STS

Acorn Briquettes
Aquados
Bolsita
Lindum Seeded Turf
Yorkshire Horticultural Supplies

COMMUNITY AWARD (sponsored by Yorkshire Water)
Heaton Woods Trust
Incredible Edible Todmorden
Settle Hydro

CLIMATE CHANGE (sponsored by Environment Agency)
Rivers Project
Silvapower
United Bank of Carbon

BUILT ENVIRONMENT: PROJECTS UNDER £1M (sponsored by the Yorkshire Post)
Dales Bike Centre
Eco Hoardings
Energytek

BUILT ENVIRONMENT: PROJECTS OVER £1M (sponsored by Grant Thornton)
Brompton Lakes
Environmental Energy Technology Centre
York Eco Centre

COUNTRYSIDE (sponsored by Northern Gas Networks)
Castle Howard Estate, pictured
Hassacarr Nature Reserve
Levisham Moor Group

SCHOOL AWARD (sponsored by Asda)
Westfield Sports College