We are delighted to announce that Global Fashion Agenda has been selected as an official Nominator for The Earthshot Prize 2022.

The Earthshot Prize was launched in 2020, with the first award being given in 2021. It is the most prestigious and ambitious global environment prize in history, designed to incentivise change and help repair our planet over the next ten years.

The Prize is scheduled to take place annually until 2030, each year awarding one-million-pound prizes to five winners with solutions in-line with five ‘Earthshot’ goals: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean our Air, Revive our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix our Climate.

Our Role

Among the 300+ nominators in 80 countries, Global Fashion Agenda is one of only a few fashion-focused not-for-profit organisations that were selected. As an official Nominator, we have the responsibility to identify the most notable solutions to be potential Earthshot Prize winners, playing a pivotal role in a truly global network.

Global Fashion Agenda will utilise its extensive sustainability network to seek out inspiring, inclusive, and impactful innovations and projects to nominate.

Federica Marchionni, CEO, Global Fashion Agenda, said: “The Earthshot Prize inspires innovation, optimism and ambition. To be a part of this expert cohort of Nominators is a great privilege. We will use our unique and well-established insight into the sustainability sector in order to amplify the pioneering solutions which are working towards both environmental and social justice.”

A call to our community

Global Fashion Agenda would like to offer our community the opportunity to suggest ideas which we should take into consideration for our nominations. We believe that with your help, we can identify fashion’s most cutting-edge and promising solutions that have the potential to create a better tomorrow.

Nominations can include an individual (such as a leader or an activist), a team, an organisation (not-for-profit or for-profit), a public sector body/government (including a country or city), and a partnership or consortium. They can also include organisations that are also listed as official nominators for the Prize. To be nominated,the innovation should be in pilot stage, ready to go to market and be large enough to scale.  The Earthshot Prize’s hope is that, with funding, the solution could be scaled immediately to achieve success.

GFA will then review all submissions alongside current contenders and select the leading solutions to nominate for the Prize.

2021 Winners 

The inaugural Winners and Finalists for The Earthshot Prize 2021 include leaders, activists, innovators, a city, and even an entire country. Explore them all here. Below we outline the five projects that were awarded the Prize in 2021.

2021 Prize Winner: Protect and Restore Nature

In the 1990s, the forests of Costa Rica were reduced to half their former size. The people of Costa Rica and their Ministry for Environment collaborated to pay citizens to protect and restore forests. As a result, Costa Rica’s forests doubled in size. The Republic of Costa Rica is now recognised for its commitment to reforestation. Winning The Earthshot Prize will help it share knowledge and practices globally, particularly in the Global South.

2021 Prize Winner: Clean our Air

Based in India, Vidjut Mohan’s social enterprise, Takachar, has developed a cheap, small-scale, portable technology that converts agricultural waste, which would otherwise often be burned, into sellable bio-products such as fuel and fertiliser. Takachar’s technology reduces smoke emissions by up to 98% which will help improve the air quality that currently reduces the life expectancy of those affected by up to five years. If scaled, Takachar could cut a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

2021 Prize Winner: Revive our Oceans

Coral Vita, based in the Bahamas, grows coral in land based tanks to replant in oceans, growing coral up to fifty times faster than traditional methods. With Coral Vita’s methods, a single farm has the potential to supply coral for an entire nation. Ideally this would be scaled to every nation with reefs. Beyond this, Founders Sam Teicher and Gator Helpern simultaneously work to restore local economies and communities.

2021 Prize Winner: Build a Waste-Free World

Launched in 2019 with the aim of halving waste by 2030, the City of Milan Food Waste Hubs recover food and give it to NGOs who distribute it to those most in need. Milan is the first major city to enforce a city-wide food waste policy encompassing public agencies, food banks, charities, NGOs, universities and private businesses. Today the city has three Food Waste Hubs, each recovering approximately 130 tonnes of food annually or 350 kg per day, an estimated 260,000 meals equivalent. This is a remarkable blueprint for cities across the globe.

2021 Prize Winner: Fix Our Climate

Co-founded by Vaitea Cowan, Enapter provides a clean alternative to energy. Its AEM Electrolyser technology turns renewable electricity into emission-free hydrogen gas. Developed quicker and cheaper than once thought possible, the technology already fuels cars and planes, powers industry and heats homes. Funding from the Earthshot Prize will help Encapter reach its goal to account for 10% of the world’s hydrogen generation by 2050.

These remarkable solutions elicit optimism and inspire ambition. We look forward to seeing how these projects are now scaled. Stay tuned to hear more about our role in the 2022 edition of The Earthshot Prize.