COPENHAGEN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The makers of an off grid, pay-as-you-go solar energy product, which could benefit poor consumers in developing countries, won the first Sustainia Award for global, sustainable solutions here on Thursday.

Azuri Technologies, a British firm, beat competition from 10 finalists drawn from a pool of 100 nominees across 45 countries, for its technology that allows consumers to install small-scale solar panels using a scratch-card system.

The company's representatives received the prize from former action movie star and erstwhile Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, at a ceremony at Denmark's Royal Theatre.

Schwarzenegger, who is honorary chair of the Denmark-based award, said the product would make "the world more sustainable," even as it shows that the climate change debate is now focusing on "tangible solutions that can make a real difference."

Azuri Technologies' pay-as-you-go business model has potential to supply poor families in developing countries with a source of clean, cheap electricity, the award organizers said. Some 6,000 families in Kenya, Malawi, South Sudan and Zambia have already adopted the system, which lets consumers avoid large, up-front installation costs. In Kenya, for instance, a solar scratch-card costs 1.4 U.S. dollars and cuts a family's weekly energy bill in half, they added.

"It is important that the solutions are not only good on the environmental front, but also the social and governance fronts," said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), explaining why the company was awarded the prize.

"(The winning solution) must be clean, green and transparent. You cannot separate the environmental from the social. Sustainability must bridge the two," he told Xinhua.

Sustainia is a global alliance of business and civil society organizations that aims to promote sustainable growth by identifying markets for, and scaling-up, proven, sustainable solutions. Developed by Scandinavian green think-tank Monday Morning and the UNGC, the initiative runs in collaboration with green programs such as the Nobel Sustainability Trust, and Schwarzenegger's Regions20 project.

The 100 prize nominations came from 10 sectors including health, energy, fashion and city planning, with the finalists proving that their solutions are cost effective, improve environment and quality of life, can be scaled-up to be operable on a global scale, and are ready for implementation.

The award winner will receive one year's worth of support from Sustainia and its partners to help build awareness around its sustainable solution, and make it a global role model.

Speaking to journalists ahead of the ceremony, Schwarzenegger said a global climate agreement and government-led sustainability initiatives are desirable, but that green solutions developed by the private sector, local governments and cities, among others, are needed immediately.

"To me, it (the environment) is not a party issue, it is a people's issue," said the former Republican governor, whose green agenda for California sometimes put him at odds with the energy policies of the Republican party.

Currently, the state of California leads the U.S. in pursuing green energy policies and aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent, and generate 33 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, by 2020.

"We have to forget about getting stuck in our ideological corners and move forward because we are public servants, not party servants.. we should do what is best for the people, state and country," Schwarzenegger added. Enditem

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