Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been awarded in the Policy Leadership category. According to UNEP, she has been chosen due to her commitment to integrating environmental concerns into policy-making as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and ensuring that Bangladesh takes bold and far reaching initiatives on environment and sustainability.

The “Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan of 2009”, which made Bangladesh the first developing country to frame such a coordinated action plan. Bangladesh is also the first country to set up its own Climate Change Trust Fund supported by nearly US$300 million of domestic resources from 2009-2012. Her government currently earmarks 6-7 per cent of its annual budget – some US$ 1 billion - on climate change adaptation

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's policies on forestry has increased forest cover by almost 10% in 10 years. She has invested considerable efforts to create awareness among the public of the many benefits forestation brings, including protection against extreme weather events. UNEP has also particularly mentioned her efforts to protect the Sundarbans and enacting laws on the environment, such as instructing brick kiln operators to convert to clean technologies or face legal action