Deadline: COB Thursday 26th January 2023

The Earthshot Prize was designed to find and grow the solutions that will repair our planet this decade.

THE EARTHSHOT PRIZE 2023 FOCUS AREAS

PROTECT AND RESTORE NATURE

CLEAN OUR AIR

REVIVE OUR OCEANS

BUILD A WASTE-FREE WORLD

FIX OUR CLIMATE

In 2022, The Earthshot prize published their “Roadmap to Regeneration” – a deep and broad piece of research to  identify potential tipping points that would guide our selection priorities. This Roadmap continues to  guide them. In 2023, they have refined and added some areas, based on the last 12 months of learnings,  and insights. These selection priorities are set in consultation with the Prize Council and our Board  of Trustees. They are shared with Official Nominators and made public.  

SELECTION CRITERIA

RELEVANT SOLUTIONS

Nominations that are a good fit for the Earthshot prize should fit well within at least one of the 15  priority areas or one of the Earthshots OR should represent an outstanding wildcard.

5 Earthshots  15 Priority Areas
Protect and restore nature 1. Efforts to protect and manage natural carbon stores such as peatlands and intact forests
2. Efforts to restore forests, wetlands, and other damaged ecosystems
3. Efforts to develop and scale regenerative agriculture
Clean our air 1. Engaging citizens in data collection and advocacy
2. Efforts to stop burning in agriculture and forests
3. Transitioning to clean personal transportation
Revive our oceans 1. Reducing overfishing
2. Developing ocean ecosystem services that mitigate climate change: “Blue Carbon”
3. Climate change solutions with oceans benefits
Build a waste free world 1. Wastefree food, including efforts to shift to a plantbased diet
2. Wastefree fashion
3. Circular solutions: extending the life of goods and/or eliminating single use goods
Fix our climate 1. Renewable energy for all
2. Reducing methane emissions
3. Constructing buildings fit for the future

If not, does the solution fit well within one of the Earthshots? 

Earthshot Other 
Other solutions which fit well within the remit of at least one Earthshot, even if they do not match a specific priority area.

If not, does the solution represent a Wildcard? 

Wildcard  Wildcards are magical, gamechanging, boundarypushing ideas that you just know are right when you see them. If it doesn’t fit one of the categories above, perhaps the frame is wrong. Don’t hesitate to nominate that disruptive genius onein amillion idea even when it doesn’t align neatly with 1 of our 15 priority areas or our Earthshots.

SIX CROSS-CUTTING FILTERS TO ASSESS AGAINST

POTENTIAL FOR GLOBAL IMPACT

All nominations should have the potential to be relevant on a global level against at least one of the  Earthshots by 2030.

Global environmental  impact Does the potential nominee have the potential to have global impact on a relevant environmental metric by 2030? For example: 

Tonnes of Greenhouse Gas Emissions saved, captured or avoided Tonnes of waste saved, reduced, recycled or avoided 

Litres of water saved, reduced, recycled or avoided 

Reduction in levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5/10) 

Hectares of land, ocean or water systems restored, protected or  rewilded 

Biodiversity increases in land, sea or rivers

Global social  

impact

Does the potential nominee have the potential to have global impact on a  relevant social impact metric by 2030? For example: 

Number of ’green’ jobs created

Number of lives improved

All nominations will be assessed for relevance to the crosscutting enablers. These are not a requirement but are a strong signal that a nominee may be particularly relevant for the Earthshot Prize.

Solutions that use Web3 and other technologies to enable transformative change. What if we could build greater trust using  democratized data systems? What if emergent  technologies such as Blockchain could radically  unlock new solutions and financial models?  What if we could find ways to accelerate the  use of smart data for carbon accounting?
Solutions that leverage new financial and legal mechanisms to create scalable incentives for  global change What if people’s money needs could be met by  paying them to restore or regenerate nature?  What if their intimate knowledge of the  resource, combined with relevant technical  assistance, served to help protect it? What if  they could become a citizen scientist helping  track progress? 
Solutions led and informed by indigenous  people and local communities  What happens when indigenous wisdom is brought to the forefront, guiding the world on  how to reset our relationship with nature? What  if we could use indigenous knowledge on fire  and forest management and apply it to high-risk  areas? What if we could bring back traditional  kelp and seaweed farming practices to combat  coastal erosion?
Solutions that promote shared economic opportunity What if we could address environmental issues  in a way that reduces inequalities rather than  widening them? What if we could transition to a  low carbon economy where everyone’s  essential needs to housing, transport, energy use and fair work is met? How might financial  inclusion tools and access to financing  mechanisms support equitable opportunity?

FINAL GUIDING PRINCIPLE: DIVERSITY

Diversity of Nominations Diversity is our strength and will be a key consideration in our selection
process to ensure our Finalists represent a diverse range of nominee types,
sectors, geographies and demographics.

STAGE OF INNOVATION

All nominations should meet the following criteria. 

Beyond idea stage The potential nominee is well beyond the idea stage but may still have  development requirements that must be addressed before they are ready to  scale their impact. They will: 

Have working prototypes, programs & initiatives, or executed pilots that  demonstrate the effectiveness of their solution

Have tested their solution with the target users or recipients and have  seen early positive impact or successes 

May already be in market with customers, partners or audiences but to a  limited scale

Not yet scaled to  global potential The potential nominee has not already entered a significant growth stage,  where they are limited only by capital. Potential nominees who have already  achieved this level of maturity will benefit less from The Earthshot Prize and  are therefore less of a focus.
Have made significant progress in the last year The potential nominee has not already entered a significant growth stage,  where they are limited only by capital. Potential nominees who have already  achieved this level of maturity will benefit less from The Earthshot Prize and  are therefore less of a focus. What “breakthroughs”, whether it be the solution or the organisation, demonstrate recent progress? Examples of breakthroughs include:
Creation/iteration of a functional prototype

Launch of an inmarket pilot program

Close of a first customer/contract

Successful fundraising

Completion of major research trial

Launch in new geography or sector

Key hires made

ORGANISATION FOUNDATIONS

All nominations will be assessed for the following foundations. Organisations with stronger  foundations will be a better fit for The Earthshot Prize. 

Quality of  leadership Is there a dedicated team or founder in place who is committed to scaling the  impact of the organization? This does not require a complete team, but there  is a person or small team ready to execute the tasks required to bring their  solution to the world. These people will bring deep knowledge of the challenge  their solution addresses and how their solution results in positive  environmental impact.
Inclusive leadership Is the team diverse and inclusive? We will prioritize teams that demonstrate  inclusivity and representation because of the well-documented and outsize  impact this has on teams’ efficacy and performance. We will be looking for  

teams that represent their wider community, including female-led and female owned solutions.

Financial maturity Does the potential nominee have financial processes in place to track sources  and uses of funds and conduct basic financial reporting? Ideally these  processes would also include financial planning and budgeting to enable a  disciplined use of resources. A Board of Directors or Trustees, or an Advisory  Board of some form is often a good indicator of an institution or organization  that is sufficiently mature to benefit from The Earthshot Prize.
Scale model  Does the potential nominee have line of sight to a model by which they could  replicate or be scaled? Again, this does not need to be fully fledged or  developed. One of the key benefits of The Earthshot Prize is access to our  extensive network of NGOs, corporate partners, funders and other supporters  who can help nominees develop their scale model and grow. However, it is  helpful if the nominee has already started to think about how they could scale  their impact, including what partnerships or other external relationships would  accelerate them, and what resources or skills they may need.

TYPE OF INTERVENTION

ADAPTION 1020% We know that much damage is already done. We seek innovations that help minimise the impact on people and on the environment
RESTORATION 2030% We want to make systems we use today better. In this, we seek innovations that are regenerative or restorative
PREVENTION 5060%
We primarily seek innovations that can provide an alternative to approaches that cause harm

WHAT WE DO NOT SELECT FOR

Type of  organization We are agnostic to sector and nominee type, and we consider solutions from  any sector: for-profit, non-profit, hybrid, government, movement, or  collaboration. We do not prioritize any one type of nominee over another  because it is by championing a diverse range of solutions that we identify new  opportunities and connections, and demonstrate the collective action needed  from all parts of society.
Financial  returns We believe great, scalable solutions to rebalance our planet do not come only  from the for-profit world. Therefore, we do not consider the potential financial  returns of any particular solution.
Philanthropic requirements Again, we are agnostic to sector and nominee type so do not select for e.g.  charitable status.
Political  implications We are laser focused on answering the single question: if this is scaled or  replicated, would it make a significant or transformative impact? Therefore we  do not consider the political implications of nominee’s solutions.

For more detail on any of these points, see the full Roadmap to Regeneration

APPLICATION CLOSED