About

Young Champions of the Earth

In the battle to protect and restore the environment, young people around the world are stepping up with courage, creativity and innovation. The Young Champions of the Earth award – the UN’s most prestigious award programme recognizing environmental action by young people – seeks to honour and support young entrepreneurs whose efforts are building a greener, more just future for us all.

Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the award recognizes innovators between the ages of 18 and 30 whose work tackles the triple planetary crisis of climate change; land, nature and biodiversity loss; and pollution and waste. To help unleash their potential and scale their initiatives, award recipients receive funding, intensive training, tailored mentoring and visibility across UNEP’s global platforms.

Since 2017, the Young Champions of the Earth programme has honoured the 30 young entrepreneurs from 22 countries, whose pioneering work has contributed to transformational change of fashion, packaging, air quality, water quality, endangered species and more.The award is sponsored by Chris Kemper, CEO and Founder of Palmetto, cofounder of Planet A, and UNEP's Advocate for Partnerships. The award is given in close partnership with Planet A.