The highest honour given for environmental work in Azerbaijan has been presented to Einar Tresselt, vice president for health, the environment and safety at Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) in Baku.
Awarded in recognition of Mr Tresselt's many initiatives on raising environmental awareness in the country, the gold medal of the International Ecoenergy Academy was presented in a ceremony at the Academy of Sciences in the Azeri capital on Saturday.
Mr Tresselt has already been appointed an honorary professor of the Academy.
His contributions have helped to make Azerbaijan a driving force in the Caspian environmental programme, organised by the United Nations, the World Bank and the European Union.
Administered from Baku, this programme has established a laboratory for toxicological and environment-related analyses and supported environmental work among students.
Mr Tresselt has also taken the initiative to set up a health, environment and safety forum which brings together operators in the Azeri oil industry to discuss challenges with and solutions for the country's environmental problems. Mr Tresselt is a Statoil employee temporarily working for AIOC.