Earthshot Prize

The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award that is rewarded to five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism. It was first awarded in 2021 and is planned to be awarded annually until 2030. Each winner receives a grant of £1 million to continue their environmental work. The five categories were inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals; they are 'restoration and protection of nature', 'air cleanliness', 'ocean revival', 'waste-free living' and 'climate action'.

The prize was launched in 2020 by Prince William and the biologist and natural historian David Attenborough. The winners are selected by the Earthshot Prize Council, which includes William and Attenborough.

Background and launch

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge announced the Earthshot Prize on 31 December 2019, after two years of development. The prize will be awarded annually from 2021 to 2030 to five individuals or organisations who create impactful and sustainable solutions addressing the planet's environmental challenges. William stated that he felt responsibility to establish the prize as Earth was at a "tipping point" and cited the work of his grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, his father Charles, Prince of Wales, and the broadcaster David Attenborough as inspiring influences. The prize's name is inspired by the former American president John F. Kennedy's Moonshot.

William and Attenborough formally launched in October 2020, with a prize budget of £50 million over the next decade. To commemorate the launch William gave a Ted Talk discussing climate change and encouraged world leaders to take action. The pair appeared together in the ITV documentary ''A Planet For Us All'' (2020), which detailed the importance of environmental work and discussed the new prize.

Management and funding

The project is funded by donations from philanthropists and charitable organisations including: Aga Khan Development Network, Bloomberg Philanthropies, DP World in partnership with Dubai Expo 2020, the Jack Ma Foundation, the World Wide Fund for Nature, Greenpeace, and the Bezos Earth Fund. Jason Knauf, who had earlier served as chief executive of the Royal Foundation, took over as the programme's CEO in April 2025, replacing Hannah Jones.

The prize became an independent charity in July 2022 after being a part of the Royal Foundation for two years. Christiana Figueres, David Fein, Tokunboh Ishamael, M. Sanjayan, Jason Knauf, Zoë Ware and Jean-Christophe Gray were also appointed to the board of trustees in the same month. The former prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, joined the board in April 2023.

Categories and nomination process

A £1 million prize will be awarded annually between 2021 and 2030 to a winner in each of the following five categories:

* Protect and Restore Nature
* Clean Our Air
* Revive Our Oceans
* Build a Waste-Free World
* Fix Our Climate

In September 2023, ahead of the second Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit in New York City, the animal rights and climate activist, Genesis Butler, partnered with Generation Vegan to request the Prince of Wales to add an "Advance a Plant-Based Food System" category, matching the sum that the other five category winners receive.

Each area is supported by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and scientifically agreed international measures. Submissions are open to any individual, team, organisation, or government with workable solutions. The Earthshot Prize Council is responsible for determining a winner from each category every year. There is a five-stage process to select a winner for each Earthshot, designed alongside the Centre for Public Impact. Nominations are screened with an independent assessment process run by Deloitte. A panel of experts then make recommendations to the Prize Council, who select the final winners, narrowed from fifteen finalists. Shortlisted finalists will also receive resources for "tailored support" and connections with organisations to expand their work.

Earthshot Prize Council

The Earthshot Prize Council comprises global ambassadors from a range of sectors dedicated towards positive action in the environmental space. The fourteen members are Prince William, Queen Rania of Jordan, the actress Cate Blanchett, David Attenborough, Ernest Gibson, the environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, the business executive Indra Nooyi, the climate activist Luisa Neubauer, the former astronaut Naoko Yamazaki, the economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the fashion designer Stella McCartney, the chef and restaurateur José Andrés, the environmentalist Wanjira Mathai, and the indigenous activist Nemonte Nenquimo who select the winners in a judging session led by Christiana Figueres. Former members include the footballer Dani Alves, the singer Shakira, the businessman Jack Ma and the basketball executive Yao Ming. Luisa Neubauer and Ernest Gibson were announced as new members of the council in May 2021. Michael Bloomberg was named as a global adviser to the winners of the prize in September that year. The conservationist and television personality Robert Irwin and the actress Nomzamo Mbatha were named as global ambassadors of the prize in September 2024.

A book entitled ''Earthshot: How To Save Our Planet'' was written to accompany the prizes, written by Colin Butfield and Jonnie Hughes, with contributions from several of the judges. Butfield and Hughes also produced an accompanying five-part BBC One TV series about the project. The book was published in the UK, Europe and across the Commonwealth on 30 September 2021, and in the US on 5 October. The five-part series titled ''The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet'' was broadcast by BBC One in the first two weeks of October and available for streaming on BBC iPlayer and Discovery+. The miniseries consisted of documentary style episodes, each based on the five UN Sustainable Development Goals, and were presented by William and David Attenborough. In December 2024, William appeared in a documentary titled ''The Earthshot Report'', produced by the BBC Studios and presented by the actress Hannah Waddingham, which underscored the impact and progress of the Prize's finalists.

Earthshot Prize Global Alliance

It was announced in September 2021 that the Earthshot Prize Global Alliance—consisting of companies such as Arup, Bloomberg L.P., Deloitte, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hitachi, the INGKA Group, Microsoft, MultiChoice, Natura & Co, Safaricom, Salesforce, Unilever, Vodacom, and Walmart—will help "scale up" ideas submitted by the inaugural 15 finalists. British Airways joined the alliance in September 2024.

A nine-month Fellowship Programme was launched in 2022 to help the finalists develop more ideas by forming partnerships with various businesses and organisations that are part of the Earthshot Prize Global Alliance. Since 2022, the prize has co-hosted an annual innovation summit together with Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The prize announced a two-year partnership with YouTube in May 2023, which would include "co-branded campaigns, events and creator collaborations". Prince William joined with the YouTube channel Sorted Food in July 2023 to serve veggie burgers from a food truck in London. The burgers were made and served with items sourced from the 2022 winners. The Earthshot Prize Launchpad was initiated in March 2024 as a matchmaking platform to connect Earthshot winners and innovators with investors and philanthropists.

2021 Award winners and nominees

Nominations for the inaugural prize ceremony opened on 1 November 2020, with over 100 nominating partners eligible to submit. The ceremony took place on 17 October 2021 at Alexandra Palace in London and was broadcast on Discovery+ and BBC One. Clara Amfo and Dermot O'Leary hosted the event while the awards were presented by the Duchess of Cambridge, the actresses Emma Thompson and Emma Watson, the actor David Oyelowo and the footballer Mohamed Salah. Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, KSI and Yemi Alade, and Shawn Mendes performed at the event. Sixty cyclists pedalling on bikes provided the power for music performances. None of the celebrities travelled to London by plane and the stage was built using sustainable, non-plastic materials such as recycled wood and metal. All of the guests were advised to choose environmentally appropriate outfits which included wearing clothes made from sustainable materials, such as organic cotton, recycled fabrics, and second-hand items.

15 finalists were announced on 17 September 2021, with the winners being announced on 17 October 2021.

2022 Award winners and nominees

The inaugural Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit took place in New York City on 21 September 2022. The 2022 awards ceremony took place at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston on 2 December, and was broadcast in the UK on BBC One and in the US on PBS. Nominations for the second prize ceremony opened on 6 January 2022.

Fifteen finalists were announced on 4 November 2022 and the winners were revealed at the awards ceremony. They took part in the event remotely. Attenborough narrated the opening of the event and Cate Blanchett voiced a lookback at the award's inaugural winners. Clara Amfo and Daniel Dae Kim hosted the event while the awards were presented by the Princess of Wales, the footballer David Beckham, the actor Rami Malek, and the actresses Catherine O'Hara and Shailene Woodley. Billie Eilish and Finneas, Annie Lennox, Ellie Goulding, and Chloe x Halle performed at the event.

2023 Award winners and nominees

The second Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit took place in New York City on 19 September 2023 where the fifteen finalists of the 2023 prize were announced.
The 2023 awards ceremony took place at the Mediacorp Theatre in Singapore on 7 November. The event was a part of the inaugural Earthshot Week, which began on 6 November and saw global leaders, businesses and investors meet with the Earthshot Prize winners and finalists. In August that year, celebrities including Olivia Colman, Dame Emma Thompson, and Chris Packham signed a letter urging Prince William to add a vegan category, warning that without a transition to plant-based diets the planet cannot be preserved. The actress Hannah Waddingham and the actor Sterling K. Brown hosted the awards ceremony while the pop stars Bastille, OneRepublic and Bebe Rexha gave musical performances. The actress Cate Blanchett presented one of the awards while the actress Lana Condor, the wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin, and the actors Nomzamo Mbatha and Donnie Yen took turns introducing the winners of the other categories.

2024 Award winners and nominees

The 2024 awards ceremony took place in Cape Town, South Africa, on 6 November. The finalists for the prize were announced in September 2024 at the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit held in New York City. The singer and actor Billy Porter and the television presenter Bonang Matheba hosted the awards ceremony while the television presenters Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and Nomuzi Mabena hosted the Green Carpet. Davido, Diamond Platnumz, Lebo M, the Ndlovu Youth Choir, and Uncle Waffles gave musical performances. The models Heidi Klum and Winnie Harlow, the actresses Nina Dobrev and Nomzamo Mbatha, the wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin, and the rapper Tobe Nwigwe took turns in introducing the winners of the five categories.

On 4 November, Prince William met with young environmentalists upon arriving in Cape Town as part of the prize's inaugural Climate Leaders Youth Program. The winners were announced at the awards ceremony on 6 November.

2025 Award

The 2025 awards ceremony will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

See also

* List of environmental awards

References

External links

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2020 establishments in the United Kingdom
Awards established in 2020
Environmental awards
International humanitarian and service awards
William, Prince of Wales