There is still time to nominate Oxfordshire’s climate heroes as we shine a spotlight on the incredible community efforts across the county.

Following the launch of the Oxford Mail’s inaugural Oxford Climate Awards, this newspaper has received many nominations of individuals, teams and organisations going the extra mile to secure a greener future.

The deadline for entries has now been extended with one week left to get involved – before nominations close at midnight on Sunday, August 18.

The extension comes after the announcement of a prize worth almost £10,000 for the winner of the Youth Climate Action Champion category thanks to sponsors Said Business School.

The winning award is for a free summer school placement.

The placement is for the 2025 Oxford Said Future Climate Innovators Summer School residential programme for 16 to 18-year-olds.

Regional Editor Andrew Colley said: “We’ve been blown away by the amazing stories coming in from the many climate nominations across each category.

“The awards are helping to bring the community together and we are delighted that prizes are now being put up across various categories.

“The incredible prize by Said Business School is an amazing opportunity for Oxfordshire’s youth and there’s potentially more prizes up for grabs – so watch this space.

“With the prize only just being announced we’ve decided to add a week for nominations to ensure as many people as possible can enter.”

(Image: Newsquest)

The Oxford Climate Awards is searching for unsung heroes across Oxford who are contributing to making our world a better place through climate initiatives.

Sister newspapers Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times have joined forces to host the event at Oxford Town Hall on October 17.

We are proudly supported by LocalIQ, the commercial arm of our wider business, and headline sponsor Oxford City Council.

Commercial Director Darran Reynolds said: “It’s been hugely encouraging to see so many fantastic nominations.

“From businesses to individuals, community groups and pioneers displaying innovation it’s been motivating and quite addictive to see them roll in.

“We always knew that Oxford was leading the way in climate action, but we would never have predicted such a great response.

“Our partners in this endeavour have been key to the success and with a number of them adding further prizes to the categories, we want to offer a further week extension for nominations so that we don’t miss anyone.”

Councillor Anna Railton, Oxford City Council deputy leader and cabinet member for Zero Carbon Oxford, said: “Oxford’s residents, businesses and organisations are doing fantastic work every day to do their bit to tackle the climate emergency.

“We wanted to get involved in the Oxford Climate Awards to help celebrate and recognise the efforts that are being made.”

Nominations remain open in the following categories:

  • Sustainable Small Business of the Year Award
  • Sustainable Medium Business of the Year Award
  • Innovation In Climate Action Award
  • Sustainable Primary School of the Year
  • Sustainable Secondary School of the Year
  • Sustainable Further Education School/College of the Year
  • Biodiversity And Ecology Award
  • Green Building & Design Award
  • Climate Community Group Award
  • Green Transport Award
  • Youth Climate Action Champion
  • Climate Action Champion

The closing date for nominations is Sunday, August 18 and entry forms can be found here: www.oxfordmail.co.uk/climate-awards

You can enter multiple nominations.