Williams received the award for his feature "Hybrids at the crossroads: new fuel efficient options for car buyer," published on Autos.ca. The award was presented at the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) annual awards dinner by Dustin Woods of Marshall Fenn Communications, representing Volvo Cars of Canada. Fellow automotive journalist Gerry Malloy was acknowledged as runner-up for his story published in The Toronto Star, Wheels section titled, "Who Won the Eco Race?"
"I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to both Paul and Gerry for their talent and efforts in reporting on environmental issues affecting the Canadian automotive industry," said Marc Engelen, president and CEO, Volvo Cars of Canada. "There was a strong list of entries this year, both in number and quality, which made it difficult for the panel of judges."
Introduced in 1999, the Volvo Award for Environmental Journalism was created to encourage greater coverage of environmental issues as they pertain to the automobile industry. Greater coverage of these issues will lead to a consuming public that is better able to make informed decisions in their purchase of automobiles and auto services. Non-partisan judges look for the ability to make a complex subject understandable to the audience along with a high standard of reporting and writing. The Volvo Award for Environmental Journalism is open to writers, editors, broadcasters and Internet publishers who are members of AJAC. Entries must have been published or broadcast in the year prior to the judging. Congratulations once again to Gerry and Paul.