Polly Cortise, the founding director of the Institute for Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cambridge in England, has been selected to receive the 2015 Stanford Bright Award. The award is administered by Stanford Law School. Ray Bright, an alumnus of the law school, created an endowment for the award to honor his late wife. Mr. Bright died in 2011.
The award is given to an “unheralded individual who has made significant contributions to global sustainability.” Cortise is being honored for her long career in consulting with corporations and government officials and helping them make responsible environmental decisions.
The Stanford Bright Award comes with a $100,000 prize. Cortise will be presented the award and give a lecture at Stanford on September 29.
Cortise joined the staff at the University of Cambridge in 1989. She is a graduate of the University of Cape Town in South Africa and earned a master’s degree at the University of Cambridge.