International award recognises Bangladesh data-centre investigation conducted as part of a major cross-border reporting collaboration.
Chattogram Press Club will honour award-winning environmental journalist Shamsuddin Illius later this month for his contribution to an international investigation that won the prestigious 2026 Covering Climate Now Journalism Award.
The reception is scheduled to take place at the club’s VIP Lounge on October 28, bringing together senior journalists, media professionals and academics to recognise his achievements in environmental and investigative journalism, according to a press release issued by the club on Saturday.
Illius, Chattogram bureau chief of The Business Standard, was among the journalists recognised for “Dark Side of the Boom“, a cross-border investigation examining the environmental costs of the rapidly expanding data-centre industry across Asia.
Led by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN), the investigation won in the Large Projects & Collaborations category of the 2026 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards.
The project brought together 14 newsrooms in 11 countries and produced 18 investigative stories documenting how the growth of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cryptocurrency infrastructure is placing increasing pressure on electricity, water resources and vulnerable communities.
The awards, announced on September 17, attracted more than 1,200 entries from journalists worldwide. Winners were selected by 120 judges from more than 30 countries and territories.
Award organisers described the winning collaboration as “brilliant” and “highly original”, highlighting its field reporting, expert analysis and innovative storytelling.
Illius contributed the Bangladesh investigation, “Digital Dreams, Parched Reality: The Hidden Cost of Bangladesh’s Data Industry Gold Rush”, published by The Climate Watch on November 5, 2025.
His report examined how the country’s expanding data-centre industry, particularly around Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park in Gazipur, is increasing pressure on electricity supplies and groundwater resources while raising questions about environmental safeguards and transparency.
The investigation cited government figures showing that Bangladesh had 48 data centres, although authorities could not provide comprehensive information on their combined electricity and water consumption.
Chattogram Press Club General Secretary Golam Mawla praised Illius for establishing himself as a prominent voice in climate and environmental journalism beyond Bangladesh.
“Illius has proved himself as one of the leading climate and environmental journalists in Bangladesh and the Global South,” Mawla said.
He said Illius’s cross-border investigations had earned international recognition and demonstrated that journalists could achieve global impact while working outside the capital.
“He has broken the traditional Dhaka-centric perception of journalism. His achievements prove that geographical location is no barrier to excellence,” Mawla added.
Press Club President Zahidul Karim Kochi commended Illius’s longstanding commitment to reporting on environmental injustice and marginalised communities.
“He has established himself as a voice for the voiceless. His journalism has consistently sought justice for people whose struggles often remain outside mainstream attention,” Kochi said.
Recalling an investigation published in 2015 concerning alleged police corruption, Kochi said the reporting had helped a disadvantaged family seek justice. He also referred to what he described as an exceptional judicial decision allowing a newspaper report to serve as a first information report in a criminal case.
Chattogram Metropolitan Journalists’ Union General Secretary Saleh Noman recalled working with Illius along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border during the Rohingya influx of 2016 and 2017.
“He worked tirelessly for months despite serious logistical and professional limitations. He knew how to overcome challenges and make quick decisions under difficult circumstances,” Noman said.
Mozumder Nazim Uddin, special correspondent and bureau chief of Bangladesh Pratidin, recalled working alongside Illius at The Independent.
“He has always been determined and deeply committed to his reporting. His storytelling ability, investigative approach and meticulous planning have consistently impressed his colleagues,” he said.
Nazim Uddin also highlighted Illius’s contribution to journalism training, saying he had mentored hundreds of journalists and encouraged younger reporters to pursue investigative stories.
Professor Mosae Selvakumar Paulraj of the Asian University for Women, principal investigator of the Green Bangle Project and programme director of Environmental Sciences, praised Illius’s contribution to environmental journalism education.
“His contribution goes beyond reporting. He has conducted several environmental journalism workshops at our university and served as a judge at environmental events,” Paulraj said.
He added that Illius had recently conducted a two-day environmental journalism workshop at the university, providing hands-on training to around 50 students.
Journalists Abu Hasnat of ATN Bangla and Saiful Islam Shilpi, bureau chief of Ekattor Television, were also named among the speakers at the reception.
Expressing gratitude for the recognition, Illius said the honour was particularly meaningful coming from Chattogram Press Club, which represents more than 320 professional journalists.
“This recognition is a great honour for me and will encourage more journalists to pursue meaningful and impactful reporting,” he said.
“I believe journalism should have no borders. I began my career with a commitment to being a voice for the voiceless, and I have always tried to tell the stories of vulnerable and marginalised people.”
He said environmental journalism must go beyond documenting destruction and disasters to investigate the decisions, policies and economic interests affecting vulnerable communities.
Illius began his journalism career in 2010 and has built much of his professional reputation in Chattogram, reporting on climate change, environmental degradation, biodiversity, migration, corruption and human rights. Before joining The Business Standard as Chattogram bureau chief, he headed the Chattogram bureau of The Independent. His reporting has also appeared in international publications, including AFP, Dialogue Earth, The Scotsman and Unbias The News.
His international recognition includes the 2022 World Press Institute Fellowship in the United States, the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Diversity Fellowship in 2023 and the Climate Change Media Partnership Fellowship in 2021. He also shared the 2023 Climate Journalism Award presented through an initiative of the European Journalism Centre and Google News Initiative for the collaborative Sinking Cities Project.
In September 2026, he received the APMP100 Outstanding Participant Award at the Asia-Pacific Media Partnership Program in Shenzhen, China. His contributions to the cross-border investigation “Dark Side of the Boom” were also recognised through the 2026 Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Awards and an Osborn Elliott Prize citation.
Several of his investigations have drawn judicial and public attention. A report on alleged police misconduct involving a vulnerable family prompted an intervention by the Bangladesh High Court, which treated the newspaper report as a first information report. His investigations into commercial cassava cultivation in the Chattogram Hill Tracts and forest destruction in Mirsarai have also contributed to public protests and legal scrutiny.
Beyond reporting, Illius has trained journalists and journalism educators in Bangladesh and abroad. He has spoken at international forums, including the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Sweden and the Society of Environmental Journalists Conference in the United States, sharing his experience in climate investigations, environmental accountability and cross-border reporting.
