The other five finalists, known as “associate laureates,” will also receive funding and support from Rolex to help bring their projects to fruition. “Rolex’s funding is similar to that of an angel investor who is not expecting a return of investment,” Rebecca Irvin, head of philanthropy at Rolex, told the press conference held to introduce the five laureates to the media. “We hope to help these individuals scale up their projects and bring them to the next level.”

What is new about this year’s Rolex Awards is that they have become part of the watchmaker’s new global campaign, Perpetual Planet. The word “perpetual” holds a special place in the vocabulary of the brand. After all, it is inscribed on the dial of every Oyster watch built at Rolex’s manufactures in Switzerland—a reminder of the high performance one can expect from a Rolex timepiece. Perpetual, or never‑ending by definition, is also the goal the watchmaker has for the Earth.

Since the 1930s, brand founder Hans Wilsdorf has supported explorers’ ventures into the most extreme places on Earth to discover more about the world. Rolex watches have always accompanied these brave souls on their challenging expeditions and served as reliable tools. As time evolved, the premise behind such exploratory journeys changed, with explorers and scientists going into the unknown to unearth new means to preserve the natural world. The Perpetual Planet campaign is Rolex’s way of continuing Wilsdorf’s legacy in making the Earth a better place to live in—or making the planet perpetual.

As well as the inclusion of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, the brand will also boost its collaboration with the National Geographic Society as part of the campaign, with the organisations planning three expeditions to collect data on climate change in extreme environments. The alliance between Rolex and the society was also behind the decision to hold this year’s awards ceremony in Washington as the closing act of the week-long National Geographic Explorers Festival.

The last pillar of Rolex’s Perpetual Planet campaign takes the form of veteran marine conservationist Sylvia Earle’s Mission Blue initiative, which aims to safeguard the oceans through designated areas called Hope Spots. Earle’s project, which has been receiving support from Rolex since 2014, has been able to increase the number of Hope Spots around the world from 50 to 112. In this way, marine species are being preserved, rare or endangered animals are being saved and local communities reliant on the oceans for survival are gaining more stable livelihoods.

For the past 43 years, the “laureates have unearthed historical sites, preserved vanishing countries and planted 18 million trees,” noted Dufour. With Rolex’s sustained support for preserving the natural world as it carries its founder’s vision forward, it will be helping to keep our planet perpetual.

See also: How Rolex Testimonee Sylvia Earle Plans To Save The Ocean One Hope Spot At A Time