Two Indian innovators vie for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize; five winners to receive £1 million each

Ahmedabad-based Mahila Housing Trust is being recognised for its work in helping vulnerable communities withstand extreme heat, while Mahindra Last Mile Mobility has made the cut for its efforts to accelerate the transition to electric three-wheelers and reduce vehicular pollution

MUMBAI: Two Indian initiatives offering solutions to some of the country’s most pressing environmental challenges are among 15 global finalists competing for the sixth edition of The Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation.

Two Indian innovators vie for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize; five winners to receive £1 million each

Ahmedabad-based Mahila Housing Trust is being recognised for its work in helping vulnerable communities withstand extreme heat, while Mahindra Last Mile Mobility has made the cut for its efforts to accelerate the transition to electric three-wheelers and reduce vehicular pollution.

The Earthshot Prize, instituted in 2020 by the Prince of Wales and The Royal Foundation, will be held in Mumbai on November 16 and 17, with the awards ceremony on November 17. It will be the first time the prestigious environmental award is being hosted in India. Prince William will be in Mumbai for two days as part of the celebrations.

The Mahila Housing Trust has developed a heat-resilience model that includes installing reflective roofs to bring down indoor temperatures by up to five degrees Celsius. It also provides climate-risk insurance that compensates women workers when extreme heat makes it too dangerous to work, helping protect their livelihoods.

Organisers on Thursday announced the 15 finalists and details of a multi-day celebration of environmental progress in Mumbai, culminating in the Awards Night. The five winners, one from each category, will receive £1 million (around ₹12.45 crore) to help scale their solutions.

The prize recognises initiatives across five categories: Build a Waste-Free World, Clean Our Air, Fix Our Climate, Protect and Restore Nature, and Revive Our Oceans. The finalists range from grassroots organisations and businesses to governments and technology-driven ventures.

Other finalists include South Korea’s Zero Waste Movement Network; Argentina-based Satellites on Fire, which uses technology to alert firefighters to wildfires; the Bhutan government, which has enshrined the protection of nature in its national constitution; and Niue Ocean Wide Trust, an indigenous-led charitable trust established in August 2023 on the island nation of Niue to finance and manage sustainable ocean conservation.

“India is home to more Earthshot Finalists and Winners than any other country,” said Jason Knauf, chief executive officer of The Earthshot Prize. Previous Indian winners include Boomitra, Kheyti, S4S Technologies and Takachar.

“The Earthshot Prize is coming to India to celebrate global innovation, entrepreneurship, culture, young people and environmental leadership. We are bringing together some of the most exciting environmental solutions in Mumbai, in one of the most dynamic cities on the planet,” Knauf said.

He added that the prize was about backing people building a better future and helping their ideas go further and faster. The Awards Night will see the presence of Indian and international personalities, including Sachin Tendulkar, Alia Bhatt, Shreya Ghoshal, Sonam Kapoor, Rami Malek and Simone Ashley.

British band Take That will perform in India for the first time. The musical line-up will also feature Shashwat Sachdev, a renowned Indian composer, music producer and two-time National Award winner; Wild Wild Women, India’s first all-female hip-hop collective; and Mumbai-based pianist and composer Merlin D’Souza.

The Earthshot Prize Summit is sponsored by the Serum Institute of India. Prime Video, the exclusive global streaming partner, will stream the Awards Night across more than 240 countries and territories in over 40 languages from November 30.