The Zayed Sustainability Prize, the UAE’s pioneering global award for recognizing excellence in sustainability, has officially announced that the 2024 cycle is now open for submissions.
Submissions will be accepted until May 2, 2023 through the Prize’s online portal.
Small to medium enterprises, nonprofit organizations and high schools with sustainability solutions from the Philippines and across the world, are invited to submit an entry for consideration in one of the five categories of Heath, Food, Energy, Water and Global High Schools.
The Prize’s US$3 million fund rewards winners US$600,000 in each category. The Global High Schools category is split into six world regions, with each school able to claim up to US$100,000 to start or further expand their project. The six world regions of the Global High Schools category are The Americas, Europe & Central Asia, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia & Pacific.
For the Health, Food, Energy, and Water categories, organizations should demonstrate that they are improving access to essential products or services and have a long-term vision for better living and working conditions. For the Global High Schools category, their projects should be student–led, with emphasis placed on the students being actively involved in the planning, implementation, and monitoring processes.
While the submission forms vary per category, core elements of each entry lie in the innovative, impactful, and inspirational ways in which the proposed technology, applications and solutions aim to improve wellbeing and sustainability. To date, the Prize has impacted the lives of over 378 million people around the world, including in Vietnam, Nepal, Sudan, Ethiopia, Maldives, and Tuvalu.
The Zayed Sustainability Prize has a three-stage evaluation process, beginning with the due diligence conducted on all submissions to ensure that they meet the Prize’s evaluation criteria. This identifies the qualified entries and results in the selection of eligible candidates. Following this, evaluations are undertaken by a Selection Committee consisting of category-specific panels of independent international experts. From this shortlist of candidates, the finalists are chosen and then sent to the Prize Jury who unanimously elect the winners, across all five categories.
Commenting on the launch of the 2024 submissions cycle, H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, said: “Since 2008, the Prize has, through the visionary leadership of the United Arab Emirates, facilitated the delivery of sustainable solutions to vulnerable communities, improving access to reliable and affordable energy, safe drinking water, nutritious food and quality healthcare for millions. The Zayed Sustainability Prize helps organizations and schools scale their solutions, enabling them to realize even greater impact and catalyze positive, transformational change.”
Winners of the 2024 Zayed Sustainability Prize will be announced at an Awards Ceremony during the COP28 Climate Summit.
