Prince William announces 15 Finalists for inaugural year of the £50 million Earthshot Prize
The Earthshot Prize announces today its first-ever shortlist of 15 Finalists, each with a chance of winning £1million to support their innovative environmental solutions to the greatest challenges facing the planet.
Prince William said: "Over half a century ago, President Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot’ programme united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon. Inspired by this, The Earthshot Prize aims to mobilise collective action around our unique ability to innovate, problem solve and repair our planet.
“I am honoured to introduce the 15 innovators, leaders, and visionaries who are the first ever Finalists for The Earthshot Prize. They are working with the urgency required in this decisive decade for life on Earth and will inspire all of us with their optimism in our ability to rise to the greatest challenges in human history.”
Launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in October 2020, The Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious global environment prize in history. Like President John F. Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot’ did almost 60 years ago, the Prize aims to unleash an unprecedented wave of innovation and leadership to tackle our greatest environmental challenges. The Earthshot Prize will be awarded every year for the next decade, discovering a total of 50 Winners.
Five of these 15 Finalists will be awarded The Earthshot Prize and will win £1million in Prize funding for the best solutions of the five Earthshot goals: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Oceans; Build a Waste-free World; and Fix our Climate. The Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony on 17th October from London’s Alexandra Palace, broadcast in the UK on BBC One and globally on Discovery+.
The Earthshot Prize Finalists for 2021 are:
Protect and Restore Nature:
- Pole Pole Foundation, Democratic Republic of Congo
An inspiring community-led model of conservation that protects gorillas and local livelihoods.
- The Republic of Costa Rica
A pioneering scheme paying local citizens to restore natural ecosystems that has led to a revival of the rainforest.
- Restor, Switzerland
A ground-breaking online platform connecting and empowering local conservation projects.
Clean our Air:
- The Blue Map App, China
China’s first public environmental database enabling citizens to hold polluters to account.
- Takachar, India
A pioneering technology to create profitable products from agricultural waste and put a stop to the burning of crops.
- Vinisha Umashankar, India
A 14-year-old innovator and activist who has designed a solar-powered ironing cart with the potential to improve air quality across India.
Revive our Oceans:
- Coral Vita, Bahamas
A truly cutting-edge breakthrough in coral farming that can restore our world’s dying coral reefs.
- Living Seawalls, Australia
Innovative and replicable seawall panels bringing marine life back to coastal sea defences.
- Pristine Seas, USA
An unprecedented global conservation programme protecting 6.5 million square km of the world’s ocean.
Build a Waste-Free World:
- The City of Milan Food Waste Hubs, Italy
A city-wide initiative that has dramatically cut waste while tackling hunger.
- Sanergy, Kenya
A circular sanitation solution that converts human waste into safe products for local farmers.
- WOTA BOX, Japan
A tiny water treatment plant that turns 98% of wastewater into clean water.
Fix our Climate:
- AEM Electrolyser, Thailand/Germany/Italy
An ingenious green hydrogen technology developed to transform how we power our homes and buildings.
- Reeddi Capsules, Nigeria
Solar-powered energy capsules making electricity affordable and accessible in energy-poor communities.
- SOLbazaar, Bangladesh
The world’s first peer-to-peer energy exchange network in a country on the front-line of climate change.
All 15 Finalists will receive support from The Earthshot Prize Global Alliance Members, an unprecedented network of global businesses, who will help scale their solutions for even greater impact.
Of these 15 Finalists, the five Winners will be selected by The Earthshot Prize Council, a diverse team of influential individuals which includes: HRH Prince William, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Sir David Attenborough, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Indra Nooyi, Shakira Mebarak, Christiana Figueres, Luisa Neubauer, Cate Blanchett, Yao Ming, Daniel Alves Da Silva, Ernest Gibson, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Jack Ma, and Naoko Yamazaki.
In the run-up to the prize-giving ceremony on 17 October, BBC and Discovery will release a 5-part documentary series THE EARTHSHOT PRIZE: REPAIRING OUR PLANET, featuring Earthshot Prize Council Members including Prince William, Shakira Mebarak, Daniel Alves Da Silva and Sir David Attenborough.
For more information about the Finalists and The Earthshot Prize, visit: www.earthshotprize.org, email Claire Straw: TEPmedia@freuds.com, download media pack here.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210917005454/en/
Contact information
Claire Straw:
TEPmedia@freuds.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen2 Enters Into Service, Delivering the Most Significant Gen2 Updates to Date8.1.2026 23:30:00 EET | Press release
The Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen2 has entered into service, setting a new standard for the Citation Gen2 family. Launch customers and longtime Citation owners Dave Mecartney and Shannon Day took delivery of their new aircraft this week. Mecartney—an experienced aviator with nearly two decades flying Citation light jets and a member of Textron Aviation’s Customer Advisory Board—helped shape the enhancements that elevate the CJ3 Gen2 experience. Key upgrades include Garmin autothrottle technology, added pilot legroom and a fully customizable cabin environment, all driven by customer feedback. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260108455097/en/ Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen2 enters into service, delivering the most significant Gen2 updates to date (Photo credit: Textron Aviation). The Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen2 is designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company. “The Citation CJ3 Gen2 deliv
SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, Announces Its 2026 Society Awards8.1.2026 19:26:00 EET | Press release
Today, the Awards Committee of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, announced the recipients of its prestigious annual awards. Honoring transformative advancements across a range of professional areas — including medicine, astronomy, lithography, optical metrology, optical design, and community leadership — the Society's awards recognize technical accomplishments as well as committed service to SPIE and support of its organizational mission. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260108227351/en/ SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, awarded their Gold Medal to Maryellen Giger (pictured here with her team) for pioneering work in computer-aided diagnosis and image analysis/AI, significant impact on clinical translation, and supporting the next generation of medical-imaging scientists and the SPIE community. SPIE Gold Medal: Maryellen Giger For pioneering work in computer-aided
PUMA Appoints Nadia Kokni as Vice President Global Brand Marketing8.1.2026 17:30:00 EET | Press release
Sports company PUMA has appointed Nadia Kokni as Vice President, Global Brand Marketing, effective January 1, 2026. Nadia joins PUMA’s global leadership team and reports directly to Chief Brand Officer Maria Valdes. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260108099913/en/ Sports company PUMA has appointed Nadia Kokni as Vice President, Global Brand Marketing, effective January 1, 2026. Nadia joins PUMA’s global leadership team and reports directly to Chief Brand Officer Maria Valdes. In her new role as PUMA’s most senior global marketing leader, Nadia will oversee brand marketing strategy, brand marketing creative direction, integrated marketing and communication globally. Her appointment comes as PUMA accelerates its global brand ambition and sharpens storytelling around its product icons and innovation pipeline. Nadia brings deep international experience shaping and transforming leading global brands across the spor
Xsolla Kicks Off Two Weeks of Industry Programming, Community Events, and Expanding Support for Global Developers Across the UK at the Industry’s Biggest Winter Event8.1.2026 17:00:00 EET | Press release
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today announces a comprehensive program of events and activations across the United Kingdom taking place from January 10 to 22, 2026. This coordinated programming schedule reflects Xsolla’s continued investment in the UK and European games ecosystem. Capitalizing on a pivotal moment in the global games calendar, Xsolla is bringing developers, partners, and creators together through partnerships, live events, thought leadership, and community building. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260108943976/en/ (Graphic: Xsolla) “Pocket Gamer Connects London brings together one of the most diverse and forward-thinking communities in the mobile global games industry,” said Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer. “We’re here to build all the things for the video game industry by helping developers turn grea
Golub Capital Continues Strong Track Record of Consistent Results in 20258.1.2026 17:00:00 EET | Press release
Golub Capital delivered another year of “good boring,” consistent results for its stakeholders in 2025, aided by its commitment to specialization. “We have long believed that specialization is a key source of competitive advantage for Golub Capital,” said David Golub, President of the Firm. “The past year validated this. Our deep relationships, scale and expertise enabled us to continue delivering strong results for investors, sponsors, portfolio companies and our team despite a muted M&A environment and high levels of credit stress across the private equity ecosystem. We are grateful for our clients’ trust and remain committed to building long-term, win-win partnerships that endure through market cycles.” 2025 Highlights, based on preliminary results:1 Delivering strong credit performance, record fundraising and continued leadership in sponsor finance Closed $25+ billion in financing commitments in 2025 to support existing portfolio companies and new platforms across a broad range of
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom