By Julia Hawkins, Ashden PR and Digital Media Manager

It may come as some surprise to you, but the Ashden Awards are about more than a fancy ceremony, a few rousing speeches and canape-fuelled networking. 

They're about recognising and rewarding the few amazing people out there who don't just shrug their shoulders at increasingly disturbing climate change predictions, or rising fuel prices, or poverty statistics, but who are determined to make a positive difference to this planet and all of us who live on it.