In the world of sporting trophies and medals, Singapore stands out among its rivals with an exceptionally generous prize offering for athletes. The city-state gives gold medal winners in individual events S$1 million, while silver and bronze medalists receive 50% and 25% of those amounts. That’s significantly more than the bonus that American athletes are awarded for winning Olympic gold—a mere $25,000, according to a recent report by The Washington Post.

The Singapore prize, which is named for the country’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, has been awarded since 1990 and honors exceptional achievements in arts and letters, sports, business, the sciences, and community service. Applicants are nominated by their peers and the winner is chosen by a panel of judges. The winner is awarded the medal, which consists of two laurels and bears the State Arms. It is the highest recognition that the government of Singapore can confer on an individual or organisation for outstanding achievement.

This year’s prize finalists include an Indian maker of solar-powered dryers, a soil carbon marketplace, and groups that work to make electric car batteries cleaner, restore Andean forests, and deter illegal fishing. Britain’s Prince William, whose Royal Foundation charity launched the 10-year award program in 2020, said at Tuesday’s ceremony that the 15 finalists’ solutions prove “hope does remain” as climate change continues to wreak havoc around the globe.

Besides the environmental prizes, Singapore also bestows monetary awards to its top performers in other categories. Swimmer Joseph Schooling, for example, received the biggest prize of any athlete in the world for his gold medal win in the men’s 100 meter butterfly at Rio this summer. The city-state’s Major Games Award Programme provides S$1 million (over $700,000) to winners in individual events and S$1.5 million for team events like athletics relays or badminton doubles.

Singapore’s government is putting the spotlight on sustainability and the importance of corporate governance, and its new awards program may be a model for other countries to emulate. The newly introduced Sustainable Business Awards will reward companies and individuals that have demonstrated exemplary practices in their boards, organisations, and operations. It will also connect them to a wide network of partners committed to scalable, innovative solutions for people and the planet.

Sembcorp Industries’ CEO Wong Kim Yin was the top winner in the large-cap category, while mid-cap companies including Changi Aviation Oil, Far East Orchard, SGX, and Singapore Airlines were named as best-performing businesses. Other winners included CIMB Bank, CSE Global, IReit Global, and Lendlease Global Commercial Reit. The winners were announced at a glitzy ceremony at the theater of state-owned Media Corp. that was co-hosted by actors Hannah Waddingham and Sterling K. Brown and featured performances by the bands Bastille and One Republic.