On July 20, 1969, the first lunar landing changed the future. Half a century later, the concept of the ‘moonshot’ as an era-defining challenge lives on. This time, the shot we’re taking is closer to home, but it’s no less significant.
In 2020, the Royal Foundation launched the most prestigious global environment prize in history – The Earthshot Prize.
Led by HRH Prince William and backed by a council of influential environmental champions including Sir David Attenborough, its aim is to find game-changing solutions with the potential to repair our planet over the next ten years.
As the prize’s implementation partner, we’re proud to be at the heart of a movement that’s bringing people together to take decisive action.
The business community has a vital role to play in the race to net zero, putting our collective scale behind the solutions to the world’s biggest environmental challenges. The Earthshot Prize finalists have put forward incredibly innovative ideas and we’re looking forward to sharing our skills and expertise to amplify the difference they can make.
Senior Partner and CEO of Deloitte UK
Prize potential
The prize is based around five goals or ‘Earthshots’: to protect and restore nature, clean our air, revive our oceans, build a waste-free world and fix our climate.
Every year from 2021 until 2030, Prince William, alongside The Earthshot Prize Council, will award the Earthshot Prize to five winners, one per Earthshot.
Since February, through five stages, more than 200 experts from our sustainability practice have helped to screen nominations for this year’s prizes as part of an independent assessment.
“We’ve been able to bring the full breadth of our expertise, from people who focus on oceans to those specialising in climate change,” said Katherine Lampen, UK sustainability and climate change lead at Deloitte.
“In the latter phases, we interviewed the individuals behind the solutions and spoke to some remarkable people, including government leaders, low-carbon pioneers and NGOs (non-governmental organisations) developing novel ways to protect species from extinction.
“The solutions were extraordinarily diverse, but they had something in common – the potential to drive radical global change.”
Urgency + optimism = action
The Royal Foundation’s Rachel Moriarty is part of the team that’s shaped the prize.
“Our goal was to bring critical environmental issues together in a way that everyday people could relate to,” said Rachel.
“We wanted to create something that gave people optimism, highlighting the ability of human ingenuity and collective action to bring about change.
“For six months, we consulted with experts to make sure our five Earthshots were thoroughly grounded in evidence, underpinned by scientifically agreed targets. But importantly, we also worked hard to give them a simple framing. A child should be able to understand them just as easily as a CEO or a scientist.”
In September, Prince William announced the 15 “innovators, leaders, and visionaries” who have become the first ever Finalists for The Earthshot Prize, and said:
“Each of the Finalist’s solutions excelled in the rigorous screening process and were assessed on their potential to create game-changing impact around the world, their ability to help us reach our Earthshot goals while also positively impacting people, communities and the natural world.”
The winners, who will be announced in October, will each receive £1 million to support their solutions.
A global scale
Deloitte is also one of 14 firms that have become Global Alliance Members, and this is set to grow over time. Through our membership, our WorldClimate and Responsible Business teams will coordinate pro bono work with Finalists and winners to develop and scale their solutions so they can have a real impact on the Earthshot themes.
Katherine continued: “This is an opportunity to work on exciting innovations that, one day, we can take to our clients. It’s also a chance to inspire others to go further and faster on sustainability.”
“What matters more than solving the most critical challenges of today and tomorrow? The Earthshot Prize has the potential to catalyse enormous global change this decade and we’re excited to be involved in that.”
Contact:
Katy Barrass, PR manager
+44 20 7007 7916 | Email Katy