This is who won Prince William's Earthshot Prize 2023

This article was originally published on September 2023. It has been updated on 7 November 2023.

In July 1969, the Apollo 11 lunar mission successfully landed astronauts on the moon, making what appeared to be impossible, possible. In later years, comparisons with this all-or-nothing endeavour were to become known as ‘moonshots’.

Prince William's Earthshot Prize 2023 brings the term back down to Earth. Now in its third year, the annual competition finds and develops new solutions aimed at repairing the planet before irreversible damage occurs.

Five winners were announced at a ceremony in Singapore on 7 November, with each initiative receiving $1.2 million.

They included Top Innovators from the World Economic Forum’s UpLink platform, which sources impact-focused start-ups and connects them with the experts, resources and funding they need to scale their ventures.

Entrants of the prize are challenged to find solutions that address any one of five ‘Earthshots’: Build a Waste-Free World; Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Ocean; and Fix our Climate.

Here are this year’s 5 Earthshot winners - and the runners up in each category...

WINNER - S4S Technologies: Founded in 2013, S4S Technologies provides rural communities with low-cost solar-powered conduction dryers and food processing equipment to combat food waste. The focus is on supporting female small-hold farmers to preserve crops and turn food that would otherwise be wasted into saleable products. S4S is also part of the Forum's UpLink community of innovators.

RUNNERS UP

Circ: US-based company Circ has developed a revolutionary approach to recycling polycotton fabric, which separates polyester from cotton fibres without damaging the cotton, allowing both to be reused to produce new textiles. The result is less emissions and less landfill from clothing.

Colorifix: Aimed at reducing the fashion industry’s use of water resources, energy and harmful chemicals in the dyeing process, UK-based Colorifix uses DNA sequencing to enhance the genetics of colours created naturally by an animal, plant or microbe to create sustainable dyes.

WINNER - Acción Andina: Since 2018, Acción Andina has planted almost 10 million native trees across five South American countries, restoring and protecting thousands of hectares of Andean and native forests. This community-based initiative increases food and water security in the Andean region, promotes income opportunities and helps sustainably manage natural resources.

RUNNERS UP

Belterra: Working with Brazil’s smallholder farmers, Belterra promotes regenerative agricultural practices to restore the region’s Amazon and Atlantic forests, and create market incentives to produce sustainably-grown crops, such as cacao, cassava and bananas.

Freetown the Treetown: Based in Sierra Leone, this restoration initiative combines community stewardship and digital solutions to promote a grassroots movement for tree preservation in Freetown, the country’s capital. City residents are paid to plant, grow and digitally track trees and mangroves, which is funded by tokens sold on private and carbon markets.

WINNER - GRST: Helping make the electric vehicles of the future even cleaner, Hong Kong initiative GRST (Green, Renewable, Sustainable Technology) has developed a new approach to building and recycling lithium-ion batteries, which pollute less and use components that can be more easily recycled.

RUNNERS UP

Enso: Innovative UK tyre initiative Enso – which means “circle” in Japanese – produces tyres specifically for electric vehicles, which are precisely calibrated to enhance durability, reduce particulate pollution by 35% and increase vehicle range by 10%.

Polish Smog Alert: Since 2016, this successful clean air campaign group has used scientific rigour to drive policy change and air quality improvements in Poland, and has plans to extend its reach across central and eastern Europe.

WINNER - Wildaid Marine Program: This global conservation initiative aims to improve the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), by bringing together partners including policymakers, charities, non-profits and academics, to deter illegal fishing, promote wildlife recovery and improve the livelihoods of coastal communities.

RUNNERS UP

Abalobi: South Africa’s Abalobi promotes sustainable fishing and good ocean stewardship. The initiative uses easy-to-scale app technology to record the daily catches of small-scale fishing communities to protect their livelihoods and inform customers about the seafood they are consuming.

Coastal 500: With 164 members – and growing – representing eight developing countries and 1.6 million people living in coastal communities, Coastal 500 is a global network that brings together mayors and local leaders to share ideas, enforce conservation policies and advocate to safeguard the world’s coastlines.

WINNER - Boomitra: In Sanskrit, Boomitra translates as “friend of the earth”. The company’s solution is a soil carbon marketplace that rewards farmers for sustainable land stewardship. The initiative helps more than 150,000 farmers – in some of the world’s poorest regions – manage their land using satellite and AI technology to monitor soil improvements, which increases its capacity to store carbon. Activities are funded by companies and governments purchasing independently verified carbon credits. Boomitra is also an UpLink Top Innovator.

RUNNERS UP

Aquacycl: This wastewater treatment solution uses microbial technology to make the treatment of industrial wastewater low-cost, efficient and less polluting. Naturally occurring bacteria remove pollutants 10-times faster than conventional treatments and generate energy, so energy and management costs and emissions are reduced.

Sea Forest: This Australia-based initiative has developed a new feed supplement for cattle and sheep using native red seaweed, which added to regular animal feed can reduce livestock methane emissions by up to 90%. Seaweed cultivation also increases natural carbon storage and helps combat ocean acidification.