ROLEX PERPETUAL PLANET INITIATIVE
For nearly a century, Rolex has supported pioneering explorers pushing back the boundaries of human endeavour. The company has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet, committing for the long term to support individuals and organizations using science to understand and devise solutions to today’s environmental challenges.

This engagement was reinforced with the launch of the Perpetual Planet initiative in 2019, which initially focused on individuals who contribute to a better world through the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, on safeguarding the oceans through a partnership with Mission Blue, and on understanding climate change as part of its association with the National Geographic Society.

An expanding portfolio of other partnerships embraced by the Perpetual Planet initiative now include: the Under The Pole expeditions, pushing the boundaries of underwater exploration; the One Ocean Foundation and Menkab, both protecting cetacean biodiversity in the Mediterranean; the Xunaan-Ha Expedition, shedding light on water quality in Yucatán, Mexico; the B.I.G expedition to the North Pole in 2023, gathering data on threats to the Arctic; Hearts In The Ice, also collecting climate change information in the Arctic; the Monaco Blue Initiative that brings together experts on solutions for ocean conservation.

Rolex also supports organizations and initiatives fostering the next generations of explorers, scientists and conservationists through scholarships and grants such as Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society and The Rolex Explorers Club Grants. 

THE BEGINNING
The Rolex Awards were set up in 1976 by André J. Heiniger, then Chief Executive Officer of Rolex, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rolex Oyster, the world’s first waterproof wristwatch. Intended to be a once-only celebration, the Awards drew so much international interest that Rolex transformed them into an ongoing programme that has, in the years since, supported 155 Laureates whose endeavours have made a significant contribution worldwide to improving life and protecting our planet.

Since their foundation, the Rolex Awards have embodied the company’s determination to contribute to the wider world – the ethos that now inspires its Perpetual Planet initiative. According to Heiniger, “We initiated the Rolex Awards for Enterprise out of a conviction that we had a responsibility as a company to take an active interest in improving life on our planet and in the desire to foster values we cherish: quality, ingenuity, determination and, above all, a spirit of enterprise.”

IN DEFENCE OF THE PLANET
For the founder of Rolex, Hans Wilsdorf, the world was like a living laboratory. From the 1930s, he began to use it as a testing ground for his watches, sending them to the most extreme locations, supporting explorers who ventured into the unknown. But the world has changed. As the 21st century unfolds, the company has moved from championing exploration for the sake of discovery to protecting the planet and reinforced its commitment by launching the Perpetual Planet initiative in 2019.

Amongst many partnerships, the initiative embraces the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, an enhanced partnership with the National Geographic Society to study the impacts of climate change, and Sylvia Earle’s Mission Blue initiative to safeguard the oceans through a network of marine-protected ‘Hope Spots’.

A UNIQUE PROGRAMME
The Rolex Awards are unique in several ways. Unlike most other award and grant programmes, they are not designed to recognize past achievements – they are given for new or ongoing projects. Candidates must be aged 18 or over, and there are no academic or professional requirements, nor any restrictions on gender or nationality – anyone, anywhere, can apply for a Rolex Award. This has allowed many people without access to traditional funding sources to gain recognition and funds. Candidates can apply in English, simplified Chinese and Spanish.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING THE WINNERS AND THE REWARDS
To win a Rolex Award requires an original, visionary project that can benefit humanity and/or the planet, along with the skills and determination to implement it. The Awards are given to projects focusing on: the environment; science and health; applied technology; cultural heritage; and exploration – but those that do not strictly fit these particular disciplines have also won Rolex Awards.

They are judged on their originality and the impact they have on the world at large, as well as on the candidates’ spirit of enterprise.

Five Laureates are chosen in each biennial edition of the Awards. Each of the five receives funding to implement their project and becomes a member of the network of Rolex Laureates, many of whom collaborate.

HOW WINNERS ARE CHOSEN
The Rolex Awards are managed at the company’s headquarters in Geneva. All applications are analysed by researchers and the best entries assessed with the help of specialists in relevant fields (some 35,500 people have applied for Rolex Awards since the 1976 launch). A shortlist of applications is then judged by an independent, interdisciplinary jury of experts. The jury changes for each series of the Awards, and typically includes conservationists, doctors, educators and innovators, explorers and scientists. Previous judges have included Sir Edmund Hillary and Junko Tabei, the first man and first woman to ascend Mount Everest (in 1953 and 1975 respectively); global environment advocate Yolanda Kakabadse; astronaut Chris Hadfield, former Commander of the International Space Station; leading geneticist Steve Jones; and eminent oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle, who served in both 1981 and 2012.

DIVERSITY OF PROJECTS
The 155 women and men selected as Rolex Awards Laureates since 1976 include an extraordinary cohort of pioneers across a wide range of geographical locations and skills.

Laureates have featured archaeologists, architects, educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, explorers, filmmakers, geologists, medical doctors, microbiologists, mountaineers, physicists, primatologists, sociologists, veterinarians and wildlife biologists.

IMPACT OF THE AWARDS
The tangible benefits of the Laureates’ projects are even more varied. In those directly related to the environment: 23 million trees have been planted; 43 endangered species and 30 major ecosystems protected, including 57,600 km2 of Amazon rainforest; hundreds of new species have been discovered; 18 challenging expeditions have been completed; and 48 innovative technologies have been developed for a range of applications.

Millions of people across the world have benefited from the Laureates’ award-winning projects over the past 46 years. Some examples are:

MARK KENDALL, 2012 LAUREATE
Australian biomedical engineer Professor Mark Kendall has revolutionized vaccination with the invention of a vaccine patch, the low-cost Nanopatch, which does not require needles or refrigeration. He has gone on to invent a series of low-cost, life-saving microwearable medical devices to combat deadly diseases. His WearOptimo family of devices is designed to provide forewarning of events such as heart attacks or dehydration. A prolific inventor, Kendall has generated more than 100 patents and is considered a world leader in his field.

MICHEL ANDRÉ, 2002 LAUREATE 
A network of listening devices installed throughout the world’s oceans by French bioacoustics scientist Michel André has established the impact of human noise pollution on sound-dependent marine life, such as whales, and on general ocean health. His devices are helping to monitor the planet’s myriad sounds and warn of threats to life on Earth. In recent years, he has extended chains of listening devices to numerous terrestrial ecosystems such as primary rainforests and deserts, as well as underwater environments in the Arctic and Antarctic.

ANDREW BASTAWROUS, 2016 LAUREATE
Born in the United Kingdom to Egyptian parents, eye surgeon Andrew Bastawrous is giving the miracle of clear sight, for the first time, to hundreds of thousands of people in underprivileged communities across Africa and Asia. Co-founder and CEO of Peek Vision, which uses smartphone technology to radically increase access to eye care in isolated locations, Bastawrous has worked in over 20 countries to deliver advanced optical diagnosis to the sight-impaired. His vision check app, Peek Acuity, is now a certified medical device available in over 150 countries.

VRENI HÄUSSERMANN, 2016 LAUREATE
German-born Chilean marine biologist Vreni Häussermann has led a series of expeditions to discover and document the unique life and ecology of southern Chilean Patagonia. Her persistence over the years has resulted in the discovery of previously unknown sea life and ecosystems thriving in the Patagonian fjords. Häussermann constantly publicizes her discoveries to raise public awareness and support for ocean conservation. A goal is to convince the Chile government to create a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) throughout Patagonia.

LAURY CULLEN JR., 2004 LAUREATE 
A forestry engineer and conservationist in Brazil, Laury Cullen Jr. has dedicated his life to conservation, fighting to save his country’s vanishing Atlantic Forest and its wildlife through community engagement. For three decades he has engaged small farmers and local government officials to establish a dozen tree nurseries. More than four million saplings have been produced to replant over 2,000 hectares of forest patches and connecting corridors of wild vegetation, along which wildlife can pass, thereby securing the future of these animals. He has also raised the earnings of local inhabitants by 18 per cent.

ANDREW MCGONIGLE, 2008 LAUREATE 
Volcanologist Andrew McGonigle from the United Kingdom has developed an early warning system for eruptions, potentially saving the lives of people who live in the shadow of active volcanoes. His trials, using a range of advanced scientific sensors that help predict the timing of an eruption, have moved from mountains in Italy to the Chilean Andes and the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire. After an approach by engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he has recently begun working to probe the abundance of water on the moon and to expand understanding of the evolution of the solar system.

Laureates are pioneers and guardians of the planet who have the potential to reinvent the future. The new Laureates can be expected to continue this pioneering tradition and to demonstrate Rolex's fundamental belief in always pushing the boundaries.