The Global Stewards Society is a deeply concerned group of supporters, dedicated to sustaining the global environment for the advancement of all life through a civil process. The Global Stewards Society is the vision of, John Cooper. He is the “Cooper” behind the Cooper Family Foundation, which has provided major funding for the Global Steward Society initiatives.  In addition to John F. & Mary Cooper, additional major contributors to Global Stewards Society projects include Gary & Ellora Cooper; Christine Cooper; John & Mary K. Noreika; Peter Vogel, Vogel Brothers Building Company; David Beck-Engel, J.H. Findorff & Son; and Scott J. Reppert, Superior Health Linens.

News and Updates

• 2012 GSSP Winners! Congratulations to Grand Prize Winners ($15K each): C Machine, PureWater Trike, and Waste 2 Energy. The Healthy Places Prize ($5k from UW-Office of Sustainability and UW-Global Health Institute) was awarded to Weego (4/16/12).

• SAGE is excited to launch the 2012 edition of our innovation competition. Over the past three years, the Climate Leadership Challenge (CLC) has grown and changed, and this year our one-of-a-kind initiative is infused with a broader vision of sustainability. All along, the competition - funded with generous support from the Global Stewards Society - has endeavored to engage students from across the University of Wisconsin-Madision in a solutions-oriented perspective on sustainability. This "v. 2.0" of the competition aims to engage more students, strengthen the culture of environmental problem-solving, and generate even more world-changing ideas! With these goals in mind the competition has been renamed as the Global Stewards Sustainability Prize (GSSP)!

• SAGE Students in Snowshoe, $15K winners of the 2010 Climate Leadership Challenge, prominently featured in the UW Entrepreneur of the Year Celebration, featured in an article in Scientific American, and a WKOW News Interview

• Four UW-Madison undergraduates win $50,000+ in the 2011 CLC! These talented students brought science, business, and philosophy together to propose a system to get maximum energy out of farm waste, and help create a hydrogen fuel supply from totally renewable resources. In addition to the Grand Prize winner, three other extraordinary student teams each won $2,000 for innovative solutions for the planet. (4/20/11)
Read the Press Release! and Press Coverage: Capital Times; Badger Herald; UW-Madison News

• Spring 2011 Newsletter released!

• Climate Leadership Challenge announces first-round winners. Each team will be awarded $2,000 to recognize their excellent work in developing real-world solutions to climate change. In addition, they will compete for a Grand Prize of $50,000 + a free 12-month lease at Madison's MetroInnovation Center! The Grand Prize winner will be determined at the Nelson Institute Earth Day conference on April 20, 2011, where Global Stewards Society member John Noreika will announce the deserving team!