The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) hosted the 12th edition of the Olive Crown Awards 2022 on 28th April at ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai. The event recognized outstanding efforts in sustainability and green advertising and was attended by senior professionals from across marketing, media, and advertising.

Aaditya Thackeray, Minister for Environment and Tourism (Govt. of Maharashtra), was the Chief Guest, while Sadhguru was honoured as ‘Green Crusader of the Year’ for his global Save Soil movement and 100-day motorcycle journey to raise awareness about soil degradation.

Award Highlights:

• Green Campaign of the Year – Gold: Kirloskar – Limitless for ‘Mother Nature Says Hello’

• Green Brand of the Year – Gold: Reliance Industries Ltd

• Green NGO of the Year – Gold: Chirag Rural Development Foundation and People for Animals Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre

• Young Green Crusader of the Year: Harshvardhan Joshi, Indian mountaineer, for his sustainable Everest climb in 2021

• Most Awarded Organization: Shreerang Charitable Trust with 6 awards, followed by Centrick Marketing Solutions LLP with 3

The awards, presented across 16 categories, were judged by an eminent jury including Bobby Pawar (Havas Group), Tista Sen (Wunderman Thompson), Carlton D’silva (House of Awe), and Raj Nair (Madison BMB).

Aaditya Thackeray announced Maharashtra’s addition of 24 new conservation reserves and 15,000 hectares of wetlands. “In today’s climate emergency, sustainability isn’t just for the next generation—it’s about our own survival,” he said.

Megha Tata, President, IAA India Chapter and MD, Warner Bros. Discovery South Asia, remarked, “The Olive Crown Awards are a collective voice of the Marcom industry, proving that communication is a powerful force for good.”

Pradeep Dwivedi, Chairperson, IAA Olive Crown Awards, added, “We haven’t inherited this planet from our ancestors—we’ve borrowed it from the future. It’s our responsibility to act sustainably.”

As part of the Olive Crown initiative, IAA collaborated with AAFA to support the Save Soil campaign. A special jury of Prasoon Joshi, Amer Jaleel, and Senthil Kumar judged creative entries to amplify this cause.

Winners of the Save Soil campaign included:

• Rohan Joseph, Vallabh Yeolkar, Raj Nair (Madison BMB)

• Masumi Shrimankar (Fulcro)