Prince William announces 15 Finalists for inaugural year of the £50 million Earthshot Prize
17.9.2021 20:01:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
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
Unimed Expands Maritime Healthcare Platform with Growing Adoption of Telemed Plus13.8.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
Universal Maritime Solutions (“Unimed” or “the Company”), a leading provider of maritime healthcare, medical supply, and crew wellbeing solutions and a portfolio company of ZCG Private Equity, the private equity fund management platform of Z Capital Group, LLC (“ZCG”), today announced that Bahri, one of the Middle East’s leading maritime operators, has expanded its relationship with Unimed by enrolling in its Telemed Plus premium service. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260813787745/en/ The agreement builds on a longstanding relationship between the companies through Unimed’s MedScale medical supply and medical chest management program and marks another important milestone in the continued rollout of Unimed’s Telemed Plus platform, launched in 2024. The expansion underscores the growing adoption of Unimed’s integrated healthcare platform by leading global maritime operators while demonstrating the increasing v
The Fairest of Them All: Klarna Supercharges Memberships, Removing Fees, Boosting Cashback and Increasing Annual Value to as Much as €6,00013.8.2026 10:09:00 EEST | Press release
Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, today unveiled its most significant membership upgrade yet. The revamped tiers deliver more cashback, up to €6,000 worth of perks, and remove service fees — built so a Klarna membership pays for itself, and then some. Klarna's improved membership lineup spans four tiers, each built for a different kind of member but all embodying a flexible ethos: pay only for the Klarna that fits your life. Pay later is free at partner stores, or get broader fee-free access with Everywhere (formerly Core), or climb to Plus, Premium or Max for richer cashback rewards, bigger, everyday perks and a growing set of subscriptions and protections. A Klarna membership is a fairer alternative to a credit card by design, and one of the biggest differences is freedom. While other cards tie you in for a year, a Klarna membership moves with you. Upgrade for a big travel month and drop back down when things are quieter, with no penalty and no year-long
Interactive Brokers Adds Access to the Bucharest Stock Exchange, Offering Access to One of Europe's Strongest-Performing Markets of 202513.8.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), an automated global broker, today announced access to the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB). This expansion offers access to one of Europe’s strongest-performing emerging markets of 2025, expanding diversification opportunities for IBKR clients alongside over 170 other global exchanges on a single, advanced platform. Romania was elevated to MSCI’s Advanced Frontier Market status while the BET index reached record highs in 2025 and continued its growth through the first half of 2026. With this integration, IBKR clients can access Romanian equities through the same platform they use for markets worldwide, making it easier to incorporate Romanian listed companies into their global investment strategies. “Adding the Bucharest Stock Exchange expands the choices available to our clients and reinforces our commitment to providing the broadest possible access to global markets,” said Milan Galik, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Brokers. “Romania is one o
Lenovo Group: Q1 Financial Results 2026/2713.8.2026 07:16:00 EEST | Press release
Lenovo GroupLimited (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), together with its subsidiaries (‘the Group’), today reported first quarter results for fiscal year 2026/27, marking the highest quarterly revenue growth in the past five years and the strongest quarter in the Group’s history. During the quarter, overall Group revenue reached an all-time quarterly high of US$26.9 billion, up 43% year-on-year, with all business groups delivering record first-fiscal-quarter revenue and operating profit. Adjusted net income[1]was up 176% year-on-year to US$1.1 billion, surpassing the US$1 billion milestone for the first time ever, with adjusted net margin improvements of almost two percentage points year-on-year supported by higher revenue scale and continued efficiency gains. AI-related revenue[2] grew 60% year-on-year to US$9.3 billion, accounting for 35% of total Group revenue in Q1. The Group continues to invest in innovation with R&D expenses up 30% year-on-year. The first quarter results demonstrate the G
Suzano Reports Adjusted EBITDA of R$4.7 Billion in the Second Quarter of 202613.8.2026 02:27:00 EEST | Press release
Suzano, the world’s largest pulp producer, announces its results for the second quarter of 2026 (2Q26), reporting higher prices, stronger volumes and improvements in Adjusted EBITDA and operating cash generation compared to the previous quarter. The quarterly results reflect the competitiveness and resilience of Suzano’s operations in a quarter marked by foreign exchange headwinds and pressure on input costs driven by higher oil prices affecting the industry as a whole. Suzano sold 3.3 million tonnes of pulp and paper combined in 2Q26, comprising 2.9 million tonnes of pulp and 406 thousand tonnes of paper across the packaging, printing and writing, specialty and tissue segments. Net revenue totalled R$11.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA reached R$4.7 billion, both above the levels recorded in the previous quarter. Operating cash generation reached R$2.9 billion, while net income totalled R$1.8 billion in 2Q26. Despite ongoing cost pressures, the cash cost of pulp production (excluding dow
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