Earthshot prize 2023: Finding radical solutions for our planet’s future

Web Summit returns as one of the key Earthshot nominators for 2023. But just what is Earthshot, and how is the sustainability prize shifting the mindset around radical eco-solutions?

“The Earth is at a tipping point and we face a stark choice: either we continue as we are and irreparably damage our planet, or we remember our unique power as human beings and our continual ability to lead, innovate and problem-solve.”

So said the UK’s Prince William when announcing the inaugural Earthshot Prize – an award launched by the Prince’s charity, the Royal Foundation, alongside David Attenborough.

The Earthshot Prize aims to find and grow the people and solutions that can repair the damage done to our planet. The rest of the 2020s years will prove pivotal to this goal, but Earthshot believes in the power of human ingenuity to prove, within this decade, that the seemingly impossible is possible.

The title Earthshot takes its name from President John F Kennedy’s pledge to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. With the threat of climate catastrophe increasingly evident in our daily lives, similar vision and endeavour are required for this planet.

At the Earthshot launch, Prince William said “people can achieve great things. The next 10 years present us with one of our greatest tests – a decade of action to repair the Earth”.

Web Summit is proud to return as a nominator for the prize in 2023.

How does it work?

The awards are centred around five ‘Earthshots’ – simple but ambitious goals (underpinned by the UN Sustainable Development Goals) for improving life on our planet. The sustainability prize will continue throughout this decade, providing 50 solutions to the world’s greatest environmental problems by 2030.

The Earthshot prize will award GB£1 million to the winners of each of the five Earthshot categories, with shortlisted candidates also receiving support and contacts to help scale.

These categories are:

1. Protect and restore nature

“By 2030, we choose to ensure that, for the first time in human history, the natural world is growing – not shrinking – on our planet.”

2. Clean our air

“By 2030, we choose to ensure that everyone in the world breathes clean, healthy air at World Health Organization standard or better.”

3. Revive our oceans

“By 2030, we choose to repair and preserve our marine habitats for future generations.”

4. Build a waste-free world

“By 2030, we choose to build a world where nothing goes to waste; where the leftovers of one process become the raw materials of the next – as in nature.”

5. Fix our climate

“By 2030, we choose to fix the world’s climate by building a carbon-neutral economy that lets every culture, community and country thrive.”

Who won in 2022?

Earthshot Prize winners in 2022 came from all over the world to meet the challenges of the five categories listed above.

The five winners, alongside 10 additional finalists, received tailored support to help scale their solutions and realise an even greater impact with their ground-breaking work.

The 2022 winners are:

Protect and restore nature: Kheyti

India is home to 100 million small-hold farmers, and the nation is one of the most climate-affected in the world. Kheyti, an Indian startup, has developed Greenhouse-in-a-Box. Designed for small-hold farms, it provides shelter from unpredictable elements and destructive pests.

Plants in the greenhouse require 98 percent less water than those outdoors, and yields are seven-times higher. 90 percent cheaper than a standard greenhouse, Greenhouse-in-a-Box more than doubles farmers’ incomes, helping them invest more in their farms and their children’s education. Using less water and fewer pesticides, they are protecting the planet too.

Clean our air: Mukuru Clean Stoves

Rather than burning dangerous solid fuels, Mukuru Clean Stoves use processed biomass made from charcoal, wood and sugarcane. This creates 90 percent less pollution than an open fire and 70 percent less than a traditional cookstove. They are cheaper too, costing just US$10 and halving ongoing fuel costs.

Today, 200,000 people in Kenya use Mukuru Clean Stoves, saving US$10 million in fuel costs and saving lives, too. A woman-founded business with a staff and distribution agent network of mostly women, Mukuru is empowering women to make a living by making a difference.

Revive our oceans: Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef

Faced by a warming planet, the Great Barrier Reef is under constant threat. The region’s Indigenous rangers are vital to its defence. Yet, in Queensland, only 20 percent of Indigenous rangers are women. That’s where the Queensland Indigenous Women Rangers Network comes in.

Over the past four years, the network has helped build the next generation of women rangers. The programme has trained more than 60 women, encouraging new conservation approaches by sharing knowledge and telling stories, and the data they have collected has provided critical insight into one of the most important ecosystems on the planet.

Build a waste-free world: Notpla

Just nine percent of all the plastic ever produced has been recycled, and 12 percent has been incinerated. The rest lies in landfills or has been dumped into the oceans. Notpla is an alternative to plastic made from seaweed and plants.

In 2022, Notpla made more than one million takeaway food boxes for Just Eat Takeaway.com. The company has the potential to replace more than 100 million plastic-coated containers in Europe in the future. Seaweed farmed for Notpla production captures carbon 20-times faster than trees, and the packaging itself means less plastic clogging our seas. Meanwhile, seaweed farms boost fish population and seaweed farming creates new opportunities for fishing communities.

Fix our climate: 44.01

44.01 removes CO2 from the atmosphere permanently by mineralising it in peridotite rock. In nature, this process can take many years, but 44.01 accelerates the process by pumping carbonated water into seams of peridotite deep underground.

44.01’s first project will mineralise 1,000 tonnes of locally-captured CO2 every year until 2024. The company aims to expand its operations internationally, enabling local mineralisation without requiring costly CO2 transportation. 44.01’s goal is to have mineralised one billion tonnes of CO2 by 2040.

Web Summit and Earthshot

We are honoured to return as Earthshot nominators for the third time. It is an experience we relish, as sustainability is core to our mission – both as an event series and as a convener of world leaders and innovative thinkers.

Web Summit’s Impact startup programme
will be utilised to find entrepreneurs and emerging companies that can make key contributions to the aims of the Earthshot prize.

The enterprises in our network are already selected for their forward-looking focus and entrepreneurial abilities. With the Earthshot prize, even more of our exciting startups can have the chance to share their vision for the future with the world.

Want the chance to make a difference? Join our Impact startups programme today.

Main image: lovelyday12/Shutterstock