Over 100 nominating partners worldwide will begin searching for the first winners of The Earthshot Prize, as nominations open today (1st November)
Five, one million-pound prizes will be awarded each year for the next 10 years, providing at least 50 solutions to the world’s greatest environmental problems by 2030
More than 100 nominating partners spanning every corner of the Earth and seven continents have begun the search for the first winners of The Earthshot Prize – the prestigious environment prize launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in October.
Partners are invited to submit nominations of those individuals, communities, businesses and organisations whose solutions make the most progress towards achieving the five Earthshots – simple but ambitious goals which if achieved by 2030 will improve life for us all, for generations to come.
Launched on 8 October by Prince William and a global coalition of individuals, businesses and organisations, The Earthshot Prize aims to find new solutions to the world’s biggest environmental problems.
Every year from 2021 until 2030, Prince William, alongside The Earthshot Prize Council, will award The Earthshot Prize to five winners, one per Earthshot.
Together, the five Earthshots, – ‘Protect and restore nature’, ‘Clean our air’, ‘Revive our oceans’, ‘Build a waste-free world’ and ‘Fix our climate’ – form a unique set of challenges rooted in science, which aim to generate new ways of thinking, as well as new technologies, systems, policies and solutions.
The nominating partners are part of an unprecedented global coalition who are now searching for the visionaries with the ideas, solutions, and leadership to repair the planet in this decisive decade.
The five-stage prize process to select a winner for each Earthshot is as follows:
* Nominations: Nominators will seek out solutions from across the globe that will help reach the Earthshots.
* Screening: Nominations will be screened as part of an independent assessment process run by implementation partner Deloitte.
* Shortlist: A distinguished panel of experts will support the judging process, making recommendations to The Earthshot Prize Council.
* Selection: The Earthshot Prize Council will select five winners.
* Awards: The winners of The Earthshot Prize will be announced at an awards ceremony, which will take place in different cities across the world each year between 2021 and 2030.
The process has been designed in partnership with the Centre for Public Impact and a range of international experts. Nominations will be screened from February as part of an independent assessment process run by Deloitte, ahead of shortlisted solutions being subject to a final evaluation including in-person or virtual site visits and meetings in early summer. A panel of experts will support the judging process, making recommendations to the Earthshot Prize Council, which will select the final winners ahead of the annual award ceremony, the first of which will take place in London in 2021.
Prizes could be awarded to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations – scientists, activists, economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities, and countries – anyone whose workable solutions make a substantial contribution to achieving the Earthshots.
The Earthshot Prize’s nominators have been selected for their ability to identify the most impactful solutions to the five Earthshot challenges across all countries and sectors, from grassroots to businesses. Spanning the globe, nominators include the Global Alliance, a network of global organisations committed to environmental action who share the ambition of the Prize to repair the planet, as well as academic and non-profit institutions and private sector alliances from around the world.
After the awards, each winner will receive a global platform and prestigious profile, with their stories being showcased over the decade and the ambition that their solutions lead to mass adoption, replication and scaling. The £1-million in prize money will support environmental and conservation projects that are agreed with the winners.
Shortlisted nominees will also be given tailored support and opportunities to help scale their work, including being connected with an ecosystem of likeminded individuals and organisations.
Jason Knauf, CEO of The Royal Foundation, comments: “The search is on for the visionaries who will show us how to repair our planet. The Earthshot Prize nominators are an unprecedented coalition of NGOs, academics, and leaders who will be looking for inspiring innovators at all levels of society – from local communities through to the biggest players in the global economy. The Earthshot Prize is for everyone and our nominators are uniquely placed to help us make this a truly inclusive, diverse, and ambitious mission. Prince William and The Royal Foundation are incredibly grateful for the huge response to the Earthshot launch. We cannot wait to find our first winners.”