Katerva

Katerva is a San Diego based non-profit organization which promotes sustainability by recognizing initiatives around the world. Founded in 2009 by Canadian author and business intelligence thinker Terry Waghorn, Katerva states that its mission is “To create the world’s first truly open platform for change.”^[1]

Name

The name "Katerva" (Kah-tair-vah) comes from the Latin caterva, meaning “crowd”.^[2] Katerva's goal is to mobilze and energize the crowd to collaborate on creating our sustainable future.

Awards

Katerva began as a set of awards intended to recognize the best ideas in sustainability. But it has evolved to become an acceleration hub.

The awards are broken up into:

• Behavioral Change
• Economy
• Ecosystem Conservation
• Energy & Power
• Food Security
• Gender Equality
• Human Development
• Materials & Resources
• Transportation
• Urban Design

^[3]

Sustainability initiatives are nominated for the awards and put through a ten-month-long evaluation process involving approximately 500 individuals. Nominees are judged upon validation, scalability, policy, and impact.

The Grand Prize winner is announced every March at Katerva’s annual gala; the 2012 Gala was held in New York City.^[4]

2011 Award Winners

• Food Security- The China Study
• Behavioural Change- 350.org
• Economy- world of good
• Protected Areas- award withheld
• Gender Equality- DNA Foundation
• Materials & Resources- Sanergy
• Human Development- Solarclave
• Energy & Power- Barefoot Power
• Transportation- Nissan Leaf
• Urban Design- Freshkills Park
• Grand Prize- Sanergy

^[5]

Support

Katerva works in conjunction with a number of different organizations and individuals to create and utilize its network.

Well known organizations and individuals associated with Katerva:

• Ernst & Young
• Deloitte
• Harrison Group
• Ethical Markets
• Saatchi & Saatchi
• Korn/Ferry
• Future Foundation
• Csr wire
• Dr. Ashok Khosla
• Dr. Michael Birt
• Jeremy Rifkin
• Hazel Henderson
• Mathis Wackernagel
• Peggy Liu
• Sylvia Earle
• William H. Saito.

Since 2012 Katerva has been divided into three categories: The Awards, The Agora and The Solutions Centre^[1]

References

1. "What is Katerva?". Retrieved 2 October 2012.
2. "Grand Prize Winner of 2011 Katerva Awards announced at the Lincoln Center in New York". Retrieved 2 October 2012.
3. Smith, Jacquelin. "The World's Best Sustainability Ideas". Forbes. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
4. Tonelli, Carla. "Finalists Named for "Nobel of Sustainability"". Reuters. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
5. Adams, Susan. "The World's Best Sustainability Idea: The Gold In Human Waste". Retrieved 2 October 2012.