The Prince of Wales has revealed the 2023 Earthshot Prize winners who will each receive a £1 million prize to develop their innovations.
During the ceremony at the Mediacorp Theatre in Singapore, the five winners were announced from the 15 Earthshot Prize Finalists. Acción Andina, GRST, WildAid Marine Program, S4S Technologies, and Boomitra will each receive a £1 million prize to support efforts to scale their climate and environmental solutions.
Prince William, Founder and President of The Earthshot Prize, commented: “The last year has been one of great change and even greater challenge. A year in which the effects of the climate crisis have become too visible to be ignored. And a year that has left so many feeling defeated, their hope, dwindling.
“However, as we have seen tonight, hope does remain. The light of optimism is burning bright in our Earthshot Finalists. From Boomitra, S4S, and Acción Andina, to GRST and WildAid Marine Program, our winners and all our finalists remind us that, no matter where you are on our planet, the spirit of ingenuity, and the ability to inspire change, surrounds us all.”
The Prize is based on 5 “Earthshots”, which are goals for 2030 that the Prize says if achieved, will repair the planet before “irreversible damage” occurs. The goals are: protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world, and fix our climate.
The light of optimism is burning bright in our Earthshot Finalists.
The winter of the build a waste-free world “Earthshot” was S4S Technologies. The Indian company provides rural communities with cheaper solar-powered conduction dryers and food processing equipment to prepare their crops on-site, rather than using cold storage or other methods of conventional industrial food preservation.
With a focus on supporting female farmers, S4S helps small-hold farmers preserve and market surplus produce. The Prize says S4S creates a market to connect commercial buyers to products while returning most of the profits to the farmers who made them.
The Prize says around 300,000 women smallholder farmers supported by S4S have recorded 10- 15% increases in their profits, while the 2,000 female entrepreneurs they partner with have seen incomes double or even triple.
By 2026, S4S predict they will have reduced food waste by 1.2 million tonnes and removed the equivalent of 10 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Who are the winning entrepreneurs?
- Clean our Air: Hong Kong company GRST has developed a new way to build and recycle vital lithium-ion batteries, which the Prize says offers a pathway to make the electric cars of the future cleaner.
- Protect and Restore Nature: Acción Andina, based in the Andes Mountains, South America, is a grassroots, community-based initiative working across South America to protect native high Andean forest ecosystems.
- Revive our Oceans: Global non-profit organisation WildAid scales marine enforcement to end illegal fishing and strengthen ocean conservation.
- Build a Waste-free World: S4S Technologies uses solar-powered dryers and processing equipment to combat food waste.
- Fix our Climate: Boomitra is working to remove emissions and boosting farmer profits by incentivising land restoration through a verified carbon-credit marketplace.
