The awards were made as part of the Recognition Programme, with eight companies taking away the prizes that were handed to them by a host of dignitaries, including Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and the Coordination Committee's head Jean-Claude Killy, the triple Olympic gold medallist.

Speaking at the awards, Killy emphasised the importance of environmental sustainability and said: "No longer is it just about gold, silver and bronze, we need to find a place for green too."

The event was organised by the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, and there were 36 submissions to the competition across the eight categories.

TEK Mosenergo won the "adaptation of innovative technologies" prize for using ecologically effective membrane technology to generate industrial water, thus limiting the amount of salt wasted.

The "best transport hub project for the Olympic Park railway terminal" award went to architecture workshop Studio 44, while the Sochi National Park, Russian Academy of Science, WWF Russia and the Ministry of Natural Resources claimed a prize for their recruitment of Persian leopards to the North Caucasus.

Reserve Creative Production Association won an award for the management of natural resources for their water treatment technology, which collects drinking water from roofs.

The "best waste management system" went to the Sochi Rubbish Recycling Plant, who oversaw the disposal of 200,000 tons of waste each year.

Sochi Park also won an award for creating the Tema-Park, while NPO Mostovik claimed a prize for implement the best energy efficient decision system using solar panels and wind generators at Alder railway station.

RKW Architektur and Städtebau Russia took the final prize for their work constructing the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee building.

Commenting on the awards, Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and chief executive of Sochi 2014, said: "The programme of recognition represents not only the international acknowledgement of these companies' engineering achievements but also salutes their contribution to the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy."

Sergey Gaplikov, President of SC Olympstroy, who also organised the contest with Sochi 2014, added: "Preparation for the Olympic Games in Sochi and the renewal of the habitat of the whole city is a part of the long term programme of regional development."

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