A total of 132 awards were presented under nine categories at the Presidential Environment Awards Ceremony 2025, held in Colombo today under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The event is annually organized by the Central Environmental Authority to ensure environmental sustainability in Sri Lanka by recognising industries, government and private institutions, nongovernmental organisations, media institutions, schools dedicated to environmental protection and community participation that have made an outstanding contribution to environmental conservation.
The programme also aims to promote a culture of environmentally friendly industries, businesses and services in the country, to encourage society towards environmental stewardship and to enhance public participation in sustainable development.
This year’s Presidential Environment Awards Programme was held in collaboration with the Clean Sri Lanka Programme, conducted under the theme “A Beautiful Island – A Contented People”, marking a special feature of the event.
A total of 132 awards were presented under nine categories; Environmentally Friendly Industrial Sector, Government Institutions Sector, Private Sector, School Sector, Renewable Energy Production Projects Sector, Innovative Eco-Friendly Creations Sector, Environmental NonGovernmental Organisations Sector, Media Sector and Social Media Sector, including 17 Gold Awards, 29 Silver Awards, 38 Bronze Awards, 47 Merit Awards and one Special Jury Award.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake presented the Gold Awards at the ceremony. A specially designed, environmentally friendly memento was also presented to the President by Professor Tilak Hewawasam, Chairman of the Central Environmental Authority and Kapila Mahesh Rajapaksha, Director General of the Authority. Following the presentation of awards, the President joined the award winners for a group photograph.
Addressing the gathering, Minister of Environment Dammika Patabendi stated that when the government, industries and the public work together towards a common goal, nothing is impossible.
The Minister further said that the Ministry of Environment is committed to providing the necessary research support, encouragement and technical guidance to strengthen the collaboration between the government, industries and the people.
The Minister emphasised that protecting the environment is not a responsibility assigned to a single institution or ministry, but rather a collective and national effort.
He added that the Presidential Environment Awards Ceremony should not merely be an occasion to celebrate achievements, but an opportunity to move forward towards a greener, cleaner and more sustainable nation.
Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunnetti, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment K. R. Uduwawala, Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody, senior officials of the Ministry of Environment and the Central Environmental Authority, award recipients and many distinguished guests were also present at the occasion. (Newswire)