Founder of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy
Sarah set up the Ashden Trust, a Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust, in 1989 and is Chair of the Trustees. The Trust has initiated and supported a wide range of environmental, sustainable development and social regeneration projects in the UK and the developing world.
She also founded the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy in 2001, now renamed Ashden, for which she is the Founder Director. Ashden’s mission is to encourage the greater use of local sustainable energy to help combat climate change and poverty. Ashden rewards, promotes and supports best practice sustainable energy programmes in the UK and the developing world. Ashden runs an annual Awards scheme that has become a leading Award scheme in the field of sustainability, and speakers at the annual Awards Ceremony have included former US Vice President Al Gore, Sir David King, Sir David Attenborough and its Patron HRH The Prince of Wales.
Sarah is also a trustee of the sustainable development charity Forum for the Future and sits on a number of advisory panels on matters relating to sustainable energy and development.