The (UNEP) United Nations Environment Program Champions of the Earth Award 2022, the UN’s highest environmental honor, is now accepting nominations to recognize outstanding leaders from civil society, government, and the private sectors for their transformative impact on the environment. The 2022 call specifically encourages the nomination of individuals and organizations who have contributed to preventing, halting, or reversing ecosystem degradation worldwide to emphasize the importance of ecosystem restoration. There has never been a more urgent need to restore damaged ecosystems than now, nearly a year after the launch of the UN Decade Restoration. The healthier our ecosystems are, the more healthy the planet and its people are.

Organized by: United Nations Environmental Program
Application Deadline: April 11, 2022

They are looking for inspirational leaders who are leading the charge in the following areas:

• Climate – Increasing ecosystem resilience and reducing emissions.
• Nature – safeguarding what we have and restoring what we have lost.
• Pollution – Dealing with waste and pollutants that endanger human and environmental health.

Award Categories:

Individuals, organizations, and groups who have made outstanding contributions to environmental protection and restoration are recognized in four categories each year:

• Policy Leadership
• Inspiration & action
• Entrepreneurial Vision
• Science & Innovation

Eligibility Criteria:

• The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Champions are chosen from worldwide nominations.
• Individuals, groups, government entities, & organizations may be nominated in the policy leadership, inspiration and action, entrepreneurial vision, and science and innovation categories.

How to submit nominations for the UNEP Champions of the Earth Award?

You can nominate the champions through the online nomination form below.

Nominate Now

Selection Process & Criteria:

Each nomination is reviewed and considered by a team of UNEP staff and subject experts, who then create a list of finalists.

The following are the selection criteria:

• Impact: Have the nominee’s actions significant environmental gains or demonstrated essential replication and scaling potential?
• Novelty: Has the nominee done or accomplished anything novel or innovative?
• Power of the story: What makes the nominee’s story compelling and inspiring?

To learn more about UNEP Champions of the Earth Award, visit UNEP’s website.

Similar opportunities you may be eligible for:

• Google Developer Student Clubs Solution for SDGs Challenge 2022
• Global Citizen Curtis Fellowship 2022 in United States
• 2022 Global Institute for Human Rights Program
• International Essay Contest by Goi Peace Foundation
• Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) for Threatened and Displaced Scholars