Three finalists presented their innovative ideas at the Brightlands Campus Greenport in Venlo, the Netherlands, on October 25, with Milan Meyberg taking home the award and a cash prize of EUR 35,000. The Award, co-sponsored by Stamicarbon, is for candidates who – in the spirit of Marc Cornelissen – are on their way to making an innovative contribution to accelerating the circular transition to a sustainable society.

A conversation with nature

Milan Meyberg’s concept, Geospatial Artificial Intelligence Assembly (GAIA), aims to give environmental entities (such as forests, jungles, rivers and oceans) a personality, a face, a voice and even a character. This is achieved by using an open-source network of environmental artificial intelligence and could help improve the protection of nature. “Our mission is to bring nature into the dialogue – literally – enabling ecosystems to speak and to have a voice of their own advocate for protection,” Mr. Meyberg said. “The Amazon, the Great Barrier Reef, the Red Sea, the tundra, the Arctic – all endangered ecosystems can soon have a voice of their own, and all they need from us is to connect the data, listen and act.”

More about Milan Meyberg.

About Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award

The award pays homage to Marc Cornelissen, the Dutch polar explorer and sustainability pioneer who died during a polar expedition in 2015. Its main objective is to motivate sustainability pioneers in areas such as circularity, nutrition, digitalization and health. Stamicarbon has co-sponsored this award since 2020, supporting sustainable innovations and the talented people behind them. 

Learn more on the Marc Cornelissen Brightlands Award website.