Zayed Sustainability Prize opens nominations for 2025 cycle

Abu Dhabi: The Zayed Sustainability Prize has officially launched the application process for its 2025 edition, welcoming submissions until June 23, 2024.

This renowned prize encourages participation from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), non-profit organizations (NPOs), and international secondary schools with sustainable initiatives.

Six categories

Entrants are invited to submit their projects in one of the six categories:

The prestigious accolade is dedicated to acknowledging and endorsing exceptional endeavors in sustainability, nurturing positive contributions to the global community.

Interested participants can submit their entries through the prize's dedicated online portal.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, said: “Since 2008, the Zayed Sustainability Prize, the UAE’s pioneering global sustainability and humanitarian award, has honoured the legacy of Sheikh Zayed by fostering inclusive sustainable and humanitarian development around the world.

“In this decisive decade for climate change, these values are more important than ever. I am optimistic that the prize will contribute to global climate action in line with the UAE Consensus, which will pave the way toward an effective response to the Global Stocktake decision.”

Prize money raised to $5.9 million

In addressing the climate crisis and bolstering the UAE's initiatives for practical climate action, the prize has increased funding from Dh13 million ($3.6 million) to Dh21 million ($5.9 million).

The prize will reward Dh3.6 million ($1 million) to each winner in the organisational categories of health, food, energy, water and climate action.

Within the Global High Schools category, which is split into six world regions, each school can claim up to Dh550,000 ($150,000) to start or further expand their project.

The six world regions of the Global High Schools category are the Americas, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia and Pacific. The most recent Zayed Sustainability Prize winners were recognized at an awards ceremony held during COP28 UAE.

This will ensure that innovative solutions from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds can be recognised.

For the health, food, energy, water and climate action categories, organisations should prove that they are improving access to essential products or services in their targeted communities and are able to implement a long-term vision for better living and working conditions.

For the Global High Schools category, projects should be led by students, and must demonstrate innovative approaches to address sustainability challenges.

3 stages process

The evaluation of each submission to the prize consists of a rigorous, three-stage process.

First, due diligence is conducted on all submissions to ensure that they meet the prize’s evaluation criteria of impact, innovation and inspiration. 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 elect the winners across all six categories.

Winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize will be announced at an awards ceremony during the 2025 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW).