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1 year ago
The rundown on this prestigious environmental award
Created by Prince William in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is an initiative founded upon discovering and championing revolutionary environmental solutions. The inaugural 2021 awards were held in London, while 2022’s ceremony took place in Boston, the 2023 edition was held in Singapore, and this year’s ceremony will head to Cape Town. Here’s everything you need to know.
As the impacts of climate change grow increasingly worrying, environmental action becomes ever more urgent. At such a critical time, however, there is a wealth of possibility and innovation, allowing us to make groundbreaking changes to our lives and to the planet.Â
Within The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales, The Earthshot Prize aims to uncover those at the forefront of such innovation and support them as they work on vital environmental solutions. The awards ceremony, held in Singapore in 2023 and Cape Town in 2024, showcases the finalists and winners within five different categories, focusing on issues ranging from reducing waste to restoring the natural world.
A grassroots, community-based initiative spanning across South America, Acción Andina works with local and indigenous communities to protect native high Andean forest ecosystems. accion-andina.org
At forefront of the electric car revolution, GRST has developed a cleaner, safer and cheaper way to make and recycle lithium-ion batteries. grst.com
Global non-profit organisation WildAid boosts the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas, ensuring that people have the tools to deter illegal fishing, allow wildlife to recover and improve coastal livelihoods. marine.wildaid.org
Founded in 2013, S4S Technologies helps rural communities combat food waste, poverty and gender inequality with solar-powered dryers and processing equipment. s4stechnologies.com
Meaning ‘friend of the earth’ in Sanskrit, Boomitra removes emissions and boosts farmer profits by incentivising land restoration through a verified carbon-credit marketplace. boomitra.com
The Earthshot Prize draws inspiration from John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot project, which brought together millions of people in the 1960s and propelled the creation of the cutting-edge technology that took man to the moon. The Prize harnesses this unifying and creative power to address the climate crisis and build a more sustainable future.
At the centre of The Earthshot Prize are five aims: to protect and restore nature; to clean our air; to revive our oceans; to build a waste-free world; and to fix our climate. Every year, The Earthshot Prize Council collates a shortlist of individuals, groups and institutions working towards these aims from activists and economists to governments and banks. Fifteen finalists are selected, and one winner from each of the five categories is announced during the awards ceremony.
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On 19 September 2023, Prince William announced the 15 finalists for the 2023 Earthshot Prize at the second Earthshot Innovation Summit. The innovators, who represent six continents, were chosen from 1,100 nominees and were all in the running to receive one of five ÂŁ1 million prizes. The finalists were:
‘AcciĂłn Andina is a grassroots, community-based initiative working across South America to protect native high Andean forest ecosystems for their invaluable benefits to nature and millions of people in the region.’
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‘Combining community stewardship and digital tools, the City of Freetown’s initiative, Freetown the Tree Town is galvanising a grassroots movement for tree preservation in Sierra Leone’s capital.’
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‘Belterra works with smallholder farmers in Brazil to restore forests through regenerative agricultural practices and to create market incentives for sustainably grown crops.’
‘One of the world’s most effective conservation campaign groups, Polish Smog Alert, helps secure policy change and air quality improvements across Poland and has goals to do the same across Central and Eastern Europe.’
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‘ENSO creates tyres specially designed for electric vehicles that are more sustainable and reduce harmful tyre pollution, leading to cleaner air for everyone.’
‘With the development of a new way to build and recycle vital lithium-ion batteries, GRST’s solution offers a pathway to make the electric cars of the future even cleaner.’
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‘Using easy-to-scale technology, Abalobi works with small fishing communities to record their catch data and to ensure a fair and improved livelihood from sustainable fishing.’
‘A global network of mayors and local government leaders, Coastal 500 is restoring ocean habitats and advocating for coastal protection internationally.’
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‘Global non-profit organisation WildAid uses partnership building and knowledge sharing to address the world’s ocean conservation needs.’
‘S4S Technologies’ solar-powered dryers and processing equipment combat food waste, enabling small-hold farmers to preserve crops and turn produce that might otherwise go to waste into valuable products.’
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‘US-based company Circ has created a groundbreaking solution to enable the recycling of polycotton fabrics, which make up half of all textile waste.’
Read about Circ’s collaboration with Vivobarefoot to make shoes fully recyclable here
‘Colorifix uses DNA sequencing and nature’s own colours to create sustainable dyes that reduce the fashion industry’s use of water and harmful chemicals.’
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‘Sea Forest’s revolutionary seaweed-based livestock feed drastically reduces the planet-warming methane emissions from cattle and sheep and supports sustainable farming and healthy marine ecosystems.’
‘Using microbial technology, Aquacycl are making the treatment of industrial wastewater more accessible, more efficient, and less polluting.’
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‘Boomitra are removing emissions and boosting farmer profits by incentivising land restoration through a verified carbon-credit marketplace.’
With the aim of highlighting the environmental innovation of Southeast Asia, the 2023 Earthshot Prize awards ceremony took place in Singapore on Tuesday 7 November. Every year, the event is a dazzling and inspirational affair: each of the five winners are awarded an astonishing ÂŁ1 million to drive their work and help to protect and restore our planet.Â
Alongside these all-important announcements, the ceremony features powerful speeches and exciting performances from world-famous musicians – the 2021 ceremony included appearances from celebrities including Ed Sheeran and Coldplay.Â
Image credit: Unsplash
However, the awards weren’t the only thing to look forward to in 2023: for the first time ever, they were accompanied by an entire series of events which formed part of the brand new Earthshot Week.
Commencing on Monday 6 November, Earthshot Week enabled businesses, investors and global leaders to gather in Singapore and meet the Earthshot Prize winners and finalists. Members of the public also had the opportunity to attend local events surrounding the 2023 Earthshot projects.
Amid issues that can often make us feel powerless, the Earthshot Prize addresses environmental concerns with optimism and determination. The 2023 awards ceremony was a night full of crucial insights and much-needed hope, as trailblazers of sustainability are celebrated.
Featured image credit: Daniel Welsh, Unsplash
