Thank you for your interest. Nominations for the 2024 cycle are now closed. UNEP will announce the laureates later this year.
The Champions of the Earth award honours individuals and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment.
UNEP is seeking nominations of individuals and organizations working on innovative and sustainable solutions to restore land, enhance drought resilience, and combat desertification.
Nominations can be made in four categories:
Selection process
UNEP staff and subject experts select Champions from a list of nominations received from across the world. Nominations are open to everyone. In 2023, UNEP received a record 2,500 nominations, the third consecutive year that nominations reached a high-water mark.
The selection criteria is as follows:
- Impact: Have the nominee’s actions resulted in profound environmental gains or demonstrated significant potential for replication and scaling?
- Novelty: Has the nominee done or achieved something new and innovative?
- Influence: How compelling and inspiring is the nominee’s story?
From grassroots champions and corporate leaders to political pioneers and research institutions, UNEP celebrates Champions taking bold action for our world.
Established in 2005, the Champions of the Earth award is the UN's highest environmental honour.
Every year, UNEP honours individuals and organizations working on innovative and sustainable solutions to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Champions transform our economies, innovate, lead political change, fight environmental injustice, and defend our natural resources.
Champions of the Earth are celebrated in four categories:
- Policy leadership > Public sector officials leading global or national action for the environment. They shape dialogue, lead commitments and act for the good of the planet.
- Inspiration and action >Leaders taking bold steps to inspire positive change to protect our world. They lead by example, challenge behavior and inspire millions.
- Entrepreneurial vision >Visionaries challenging the status quo to build a cleaner future. They build systems, create new technology and spearhead a groundbreaking vision.
- Science and innovation >Trailblazers pushing the boundaries of technology for profound environmental benefit. They invent possibilities for a more sustainable world.
The Champions of the Earth has recognized 116 laureates, ranging from world leaders to technology inventors. They include 27 world leaders, 70 individuals and 19 groups or organizations.
Born into a dynasty of scientists who have explored the heights and depths of the planet, Bertrand Piccard achieved the first ever non-stop round-the-world balloon flight. An internationally renowned medical doctor and psychiatrist, aeronaut and lecturer, initiator of the Solar Impulse program, chairman of the Winds of Hope charitable foundation, and a UN Goodwill Ambassador, he combines science and adventure in order to address some of today’s global challenges.
Passionate about all forms of flying since his childhood, he was one of the pioneers of hang gliding and microlight aviation in the 1970s. He then initiated the “Breitling Orbiter” project, which in 1999 achieved the first non-stop balloon flight around the globe, capturing the records for the longest flight in the history of aviation in terms of duration and distance.
Following a family tradition that combines scientific exploration, protection of the environment and the search for a better quality of life, Dr. Piccard came up with the vision of flying round the world in a solar aircraft. In 2010, the first prototype managed to remain airborne night and day without fuel, powered by solar energy alone.
A pioneer, explorer and an innovator who operates outside the customary certainties and stereotypes, Dr. Piccard is first and foremost a visionary and a communicator. His stated goal is to demonstrate that progress is possible using clean technologies. As chairman of Solar Impulse, he has developed the project’s avant-garde philosophy and defined its symbolic reach in order to convince governments to launch much more ambitious energy policies. He shares control of this enterprise with his partner André Borschberg, just as he takes turns with him at the controls of the solar aircraft.
In this age of social media and selfies, of the widespread portrayal of disengaged youths glued to smart phones in search of diversion rather than information, many have chosen to write off the next generation of activists. At the age of just 19, Boyan Slat is disproving such attitudes with a vengeance as he charts new territory in the quest for a solution to the ever-growing global problem of plastic debris in our oceans.
The scale of plastic contamination in the marine environment is vast. From bottles to bags to the microplastics that sluice into the seas from cosmetics and other products, plastic waste bobs on all of the world’s oceans and collects in vast swirling gyres that serve as an unwelcome monument to humanity’s wasteful practices. There has been no practical remedy to this escalating threat, which threatens sea creatures, damages coral reefs and brings chemical contamination. Conservative estimates place the financial damage at $13 billion per year.
It is to this problem that Slat turned his keen mind from an early age. While sixteen and still in secondary school, Slat went diving in Greece and found he often couldn’t see the fish for the plastic bags drifting through the waters. While his peers focused on the more immediate problems of navigating the turbulent waters of the teenage years, Slat spent six months studying plastic pollution and envisioned using natural ocean currents and winds to transport plastic towards a collection platform. Instead of using nets and vessels to remove the plastic, which can entangle sea life and worsen the problem it seeks to solve, he hit on the idea of solid floating barriers to collect the waste.
With the determination and lack of fear that marks out visionaries, Slat quit his Aerospace Engineering studies and led a team of 100 people to prove the feasibility of The Ocean Cleanup Array. The design was awarded Best Technical Design at the Delft University of Technology, and came second at the iSea Sustainable Innovation Award by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. Slat has also been recognized as one of the 20 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs Worldwide by Intel EYE50, and his presentation at TEDxDelft 2012 has been viewed by over 1.5 million people.
A crowd funding campaign has raised $2.2 million, which will allow his organization to start the pilot phase of the project. His vision and efforts have rallied politicians, scientists, the media and other activists around the cause of tackling plastic wastes, and will inspire others to take the necessary steps to both begin a clean-up and ensure waste does not end up in the ocean in the first place.
Dr. Janez Potočnik became a Member of the European Commission in May 2004. As the Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Potocnik is recognized for his strong commitment to the mainstreaming of the environmental dimension in the development of a more resource-efficient economy, as reaffirmed by his recent call for a 'New Environmentalism'.
His leadership has been constantly emphasizing how global resource constraints should trigger changes in the way the economy functions and in the way humanity lives. The Commissioner calls for the three “I’s” — innovation, incentives and integration — aiming at enabling a shift from the present linear model of intensive resource consumption to a circular model, thus reinforcing the essence of a green economy that will generate jobs, create competitiveness, while protecting health and the environment.
Dr. Potocnik’s work also highlights the need to reduce food waste and supports the European Commission’s initiatives aimed at reducing food waste, resulting in the EU’s target to halve food waste by 2020. The 2013 EU Communication on Sustainable Food will not only look at food waste, but also at ways to tackle resource inefficiencies across the entire value chain, with the ultimate objective of helping the food system become more resilient and competitive.
Google Earth has become a powerful tool to show the scale of problems and illustrate solutions, which has encouraged a shift in public policy, funding for projects, and even in people’s fundamental understanding of the world. The software has proven to be an effective tool for monitoring the state of the environment, for example illustrating the scale of deforestation or the planet’s massive potential for renewable energy.
Google Earth Engine brings together the world's satellite imagery — trillions of scientific measurements dating back almost 40 years — and makes it available online with tools for scientists, independent researchers, and nations to mine this massive warehouse of data to detect changes, map trends and quantify differences on the Earth's surface. Applications include: detecting deforestation, classifying land cover, estimating forest biomass and carbon, and mapping the world’s road-free areas.
Google Earth was used to help the rescue workers who saved more than 4,000 people after Hurricane Katrina. In Australia, a scientist used Google Earth to discover a previously unknown fringing coral reef in a region marked for an oil and natural gas push.
Through Google Earth Outreach, an engagement initiative with non-profit organizations, Dreaming New Mexico used Google Earth to create a future vision of New Mexico in 2020 should it switch from fossil fuels to the renewable energy abundantly available within the state, enabling policy makers to visualize the possibilities of a greener energy future. A Brazilian indigenous tribe, the “Surui”, has been able to use Google Earth to prevent the deforestation and ruin of their area, and to preserve their culture and history.
Martha Isabel Ruiz Corzo is responsible for achieving Biosphere Reserve status for the Sierra Gorda under an exceptional public-private co-management system. Through her work and advocacy, 33 per cent of the State of Querétaro is now protected as a Biosphere Reserve. In 2008, the Sierra Gorda in the neighboring state of Guanajuato also achieved Biosphere Reserve status, resulting in another 280,000 hectares coming under conservation management.
Her success comes from her innovative approach to finding sustainable development solutions for poor communities that are often burdened with the costs associated with conserving nature. But through Pati's efforts, they are now environmental service providers and derive part of their livelihood from protecting local ecosystems.
Pati was responsible for the federal administration of the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve for 14 years. Before that, she spent eight years as a UN Development Programme Coordinator, gathering accolades and securing cash and in-kind resources in excess of US$45 million. She has drawn considerable national and international attention to the region and has raised significant resources from the private and public sectors to support a “conservation economy”.
Over the past 25 years, Pati and Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda (GESG) have engaged more than 34,000 people in community environmental education programs, solid waste management, soil restoration, productive diversification, and conservation. Pati and her team have developed simple replication strategies through online and on-site courses provided by the Earth Center training center. The “Learning and Teaching for a Sustainable Future UNESCO-Sierra Gorda” diploma is a certified course that teaches the lessons learned in the SGBR to students graduating from the training center. In 2010 alone, the course served 900 students.
She is also a pioneer in valuing natural capital. Sierra Gorda obtained carbon offsets validated by the Rainforest Alliance under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance and the Voluntary Carbon Standard, which is the first validated forest project of its kind in Mexico. These tools have been adopted by the state Government and are also in the process of being validated by the National Forestry Commission in order to be easily replicated in other parts of the country.
Hundreds of families in Sierra Gorda receive more than US$2 million from the sale of carbon credits. Furthermore, Pati has spearheaded the development of a “Basket of Ecosystem Services and Products,” a brand new regional catalogue of environmental products and services.
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is a leading business and political figure, championing the development and deployment of renewable energy and clean technology solutions.
In 2006, Dr. Al Jaber spearheaded the launch of Masdar, an Abu Dhabi-based commercial venture aimed at advancing clean energy to the forefront of the global power business. Through its investments, Masdar is deploying large-scale renewable energy projects in Abu Dhabi and across the globe, while encouraging the technology’s adoption through smaller-scale aid projects in various countries, including Afghanistan, Tonga and Seychelles.
Amongst its flagship projects is Masdar City, a 6km2 low-carbon, low-waste development in Abu Dhabi, which employs cutting-edge sustainable urban planning and architectural practices while also testing advanced energy efficient building technologies and materials. Masdar City is already home of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology campus—established in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 2009, Dr. Al Jaber coordinated and led Masdar’s participation in the UAE’s successful bid to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi. In the same year, he was invited by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to serve as a member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change (AGECC).
In 2010, Dr. Al Jaber was appointed UAE Special Envoy for Energy and Climate Change, where he is responsible for developing and advocating the UAE’s position on international climate negotiations. In 2011, he was selected by the UN Secretary General to serve as a member of the High Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All.
Samson Parashina, a Maasai warrior, son of a local chief and respected safari guide, has shown amazing commitment to developing sustainable green economy models for Kenya’s Kuku Group Ranch, land communally owned by the Maasai community.
Parashina started as a waiter at an ecotourism lodge, but swiftly rose to become the President of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT) – a grass-roots community trust preserving the wilderness, wildlife and cultural heritage of the Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem. The ecosystem is recognized for its high biodiversity, significant tourism revenues and as a vital watershed providing freshwater to millions of Kenyans. Three national parks - Tsavo, Amboseli and Chyulu Hills - lie within a human-dominated landscape and the overall health of this ecosystem is reliant on the sustainable management of the lands between the protected areas by the local communities that own them.
The trust’s success has taken its profile global, with actor Edward Norton, the UN’s Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, a board member. Parashina, Norton and two other Maasai completed the 2009 New York marathon to raise awareness and funding for the trust.
Under Parashina’s strong leadership, the community agreed to appoint MWCT as the community’s manager of natural resources. The trust ensures that the community is protected through sustainable management of their natural resources, protecting the long-term viability of the ecosystem and traditional community livelihoods.
The trust, which employs over 200 locals and has an annual budget of over US$1 million, is developing sustainable financing mechanisms and partnering with Conservation International and Wildlife Works to carry out a REDD+ carbon feasibility study. MWCT is also coordinating a landmark collaboration to protect the Chyulu Forest-Mizima Springs watershed, which provides fresh water for millions of Kenyans. Finally, in an area where human-wildlife conflicts are a major problem, MWCT is pioneering a model where tourism surcharges are used to fund Wildlife Pays, a programme that compensates livestock herders for losses to wildlife predation in exchange for full protection of predators.
"Responsibility is more important than growth", runs one of the company mottos of China’s BROAD Group.
BROAD is a world leader in the manufacture of central air-conditioning systems that use diesel or natural gas instead of electricity to cool office buildings, shopping malls and factories. BROAD states that its non-electric air conditioning units are 200% more energy efficient and that CO2 emissions are 4 times lower than traditional models.
BROAD, which is based in Changsha, Hunan Province, was established by Zhang Yue with a mere US$3,000 in 1988. Today, the company’s air conditioners are the market leader in China and BROAD exports its products to some 60 countries around the world.
As well as regularly featuring in lists of China’s wealthiest people, founder Zhang Yue has become one of the most outspoken voices on the environment in China, advocating, among other things, for tighter government regulations on insulation and building standards and for the decentralization of power plants.
BROAD prides itself on its green credentials and lists protecting the environment, energy conservation and reducing greenhouse gases among its key company goals.
Indeed, BROAD states that the cumulative effect of all its products sold to date has led to emissions savings of around 90 million tons of CO2, 1 million tons of sulphur dioxide and 10,000 tons of CFCs.
BROAD has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2001, and in 2008, it joined the Climate Group - an independent, not-for-profit organization working internationally with government and business leaders to advance smart policies and technologies to cut global emissions and accelerate a clean industrial revolution.
"When I set up my business, I challenged myself to create wealth. Now, I have completely shifted the focus of this business towards the direction of reducing emissions. I’ve taken on the challenge of climate change", said Zhang Yue.
"With this award, people will start to notice our work and we will be able to influence them to pay more attention to energy efficiency, whether as an individual or as a business."
