ANTHONY Pratt does a nice line in world leaders.

Just in the past few months he has dined with former US president Bill Clinton and enjoyed breakfast at the family home Raheen with Clinton's old deputy, Al Gore.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu are also allies in Pratt's paper recycling push.

Now there are a couple more names to add to the list.

Pratt's commitment to recycling, including pledging $US1 billion to paper recycling and waste-to-energy infrastructure back in September, has won him a gong from Global Green USA, an affiliate of Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross International.

Presenting Pratt with the award was none other than US presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg.

Pratt must have learned a thing or two from his Visy Industries days. He's almost cornered the market in world leaders, one might suggest.

"Anthony Pratt's continued efforts to raise awareness of recycling and what it can do to help protect the environment is an example to us all," said Global Green chief executive Matt Petersen at the awards night. "We at Global Green salute and commend his commitment to the planet."

Pratt is aware of the power of his political affiliations, and said as much in his acceptance speech. "I learned the importance of the megaphone," Pratt said. "That's why we chose the Clinton Global Initiative in

the world's capital - New York City - to announce our

$US1 billion commitment, to take advantage of the large media presence at the conference to get the word out about recycling.

"But to be honest with you, I didn't come to America 17 years ago to build a recycling movement; I came here to grow a business and make money for the company. It just so happened that we were in a business that's now considered to be squarely on the side of the angels."

And it's not just politicians Pratt has been using to help spruik the recycling message.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Ted Turner all pitched in to help promote his recycling push at the Clinton Global Initiative in September.

"Green is hot right now," Pratt said.

At Monday's Global Green award ceremony in New York, Pratt was joined by Hollywood stars Glenn Close and Kyra Sedgwick, and TV news anchor Katie Couric

Pratt Industries, the US arm of Visy, has built recycled-paper mills in New York and Georgia that use no toxic chemicals and keep 700,000 tonnes of waste paper from US landfills.