Amrita University has been honored with the SGP Best Innovator Award, a recognition of its groundbreaking work on the Blue is the New Pink ocean farming project. This initiative was launched under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) and was presented at the World Sustainable Development Summit 2026.
The prestigious award was conferred at the 25th World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2026, held in New Delhi.
Under the leadership of Amrita’s Centre for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (CWEGE), which was appointed as India’s first UNESCO Chair for Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment in 2016, this initiative is committed to women-led climate change solutions in coastal regions. The award was received by Dr Bhavani Rao R., Dean of the School of Social & Behavioural Sciences and project director.
“Knowledge becomes meaningful only when it touches life,” said Dr. Rao, following the lead of Amma as Amrita’s Chancellor, whose direction has been crucial to the project’s achievements.
The Blue is the New Pink project combines sustainable seaweed farming with business training, enabling women’s groups to develop goods such as pickles and soaps.
Some of the significant effects include:
- Restoration of over 6 hectares of seagrass ecosystems
- Cleaning up 12 kilometers of coastline
- Providing extensive training on swimming, farming, and marketing
This initiative creates climate-resilient livelihoods for women as independent entrepreneurs while protecting vulnerable ecosystems.
The project was implemented under SGP with assistance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (India), UNDP, and TERI. The project also received co-financing assistance from ESRI and Transworld Group.
“This is more significant since we are receiving this honor under the Silver Jubilee of WSDS,” The CWEGE officials observed, honoring Amma’s compassionate leadership. “This award motivates more women to lead in climate change and environmental protection.”
As Amma often says:“True progress is to uplift the marginalized and heal the Earth.”
This achievement by Blue is the New Pink is another example of Amrita’s Live-in-Labs approach: research grounded in communities and turning challenges into opportunities. As women in coastal communities flourish and our planet heals, this honor is a source of hope for a better future.
