The White Owl Conservation Awards were established in 1968. Initially, a single award was given annually to the person or group (chosen from those nominated) that was considered to have made the greatest contribution to the preservation of Canada's natural environment. The award could be shared by two persons or groups. Later, separate prizes were given annually for individuals and groups. A system of grants for worthy environmental projects was introduced in 1970.
The awards and grants were discontinued at the end of 1976 due to controversy over their sponsor. The original sponsor of the program was the General Cigar Company of Montréal, Quebec (see Note for use of accented "é"), maker of the White Owl brand of cigars. By 1972, sponsorship was assumed by Imperial Tobacco, of which General Cigar was a subsidiary.<br>
The annual White Owl Conservation Awards were established in 1968 by Robert B. Alexander, an ardent conservationist and the marketing Vice-President (April 1969, President) of the General Cigar Company Ltd. The company used part of its advertising budget to sponsor the awards.
In November 1967, General Cigar had introduced new packaging and collectible insert cards for the four varieties of its White Owl brand of cigars. The cards were illustrated by J. Fenwick Lansdowne, an internationally noted painter of Canadian birds, with descriptive texts added by naturalist John Livingstone. During their conversations on environmental matters, Alexander, Lansdowne, and Livingstone had noted "the fact that Canada had no way of recognizing its outstanding conservationists", which led to the creation of the White Owl awards in 1968.
Robert Alexander left General Cigar as of May 1, 1971, to take up the position of manager of a tobacco wholesaler in Victoria, British Columbia. He was replaced as President of General Cigar by one of its vice-presidents, Edmond Ricard, who became President of Imperial Tobacco Products Ltd. as of March 1, 1972. Ricard held the Imperial Tobacco position in addition to the presidencies of its subsidiaries, General Cigar Co. and Imperial Leaf Tobacco Co.
By 1972, sponsorship of the White Owl Conservation Awards was transferred from General Cigar Company to its parent company, Imperial Tobacco Products Limited, which was renamed Imperial Tobacco Limited in November 1974. This incarnation of Imperial Tobacco was an operating division of Imasco Limited.<br>
The first White Owl Conservation Award (1968) was a single honour comprising a trophy and a $5000 prize. It was presented to the individual or organization considered by an independent panel of judges (the Awards Committee) to have "contributed the most" to conservation in Canada. Nominations for the first award opened in March 1968, and it was presented the following December. In the first year, candidates for consideration could be proposed only by members of Outdoor Writers of Canada, who nominated fourteen organizations and one individual. Starting in 1969, nominations could be made by any Canadian.
The winner in 1970 was the nominee considered by the Awards Committee to have contributed the most to anti-pollution work and the preservation of the Canadian environment. The amount of the prize was doubled in 1971 to $. In addition, the specific reference in the criteria to anti-pollution work was dropped, and the phrase "outstanding contribution" came into use near the end of that year alongside the phrase "contributed the most".
Separate awards for groups and individuals were introduced in 1972, with respective prizes of $ and $2000. In 1975, the prize for the individual award was increased to $3000.
In each of 1971 and 1972, the Awards Committee held a competition among post-secondary educational institutions for the production of a television commercial that promoted public participation in the preservation of the environment. All entries became the property of the Committee. The prizes were $1000 for first place, $300 for second place, and $100 each for two honourable mentions.
A by year of the specifics of the awards and grants and a separate list by year of the are given below.
In late April 1970, the White Owl Conservation Awards Committee announced the availability of grants of up to $2500 for conservation and anti-pollution projects, with "immediate need" being a key criterion. Initially, four grants were made each year in 1970, 1971, and 1972. In 1971, the range for the grants was set as $1000 to $2500, with a total allotment of $8000, the latter being an increase from 1970.
Beginning in 1973, the number of annual grants increased. Starting January 1974, the intention was to issue grants "on a near-monthly basis", with amounts under $1000 available. Starting February 1975, the Awards Committee could officially give multiple grants to a single group, and a special category of "mini-grants" of up to $500 was introduced for "groups getting started, or for useful, small-scale projects". The sum of $ was allotted for grants in each of 1975 and 1976.
A list by year of the is given below.
In March 1976, the name of the White Owl Conservation Awards (and Program) was changed to the Imperial Tobacco Environmental Awards (and Program). Imperial Tobacco gave a number of reasons for the change:
The White Owl Conservation Awards Committee, which decided upon the award winners and grant recipients, consisted of prominent Canadians, many of whom were associated with the environmental movement. In 1968, the committee comprised only three members, all of whom were members of the Outdoor Writers of Canada (OWC). In subsequent years, the committee membership increased in number and encompassed a greater range of individuals. The committee was independent of the sponsors of the program, and its membership varied from year to year.
The members of the Awards Committee for selected years are given below:
1968
1970
1973
1975
By 1976, Imperial Tobacco was being challenged over its sponsorship of the White Owl awards and grants. These objections led to the termination of the honours and monies at the end of that year. The company's support for an environmental program was regarded as incompatible with the pollution created by tobacco smoking.