The Competition

The Earth Prize is a $100,000 environmental sustainability competition open to teenage students worldwide. It recognizes and awards students who develop the best solutions to accelerate positive change towards environmental sustainability.

THE BASICS

HOW TO APPLY

Registration is open from September
1st until January 31st.

Complete the online registration form to join The Earth Prize Discord Community, where you'll gain access to exclusive content and mentoring.

ELIGIBILITY

Participants must have been born between 2006 and 2012 and be registered in a school or educational program.

THE TIMELINE

REGISTRATION AND SUBMISSION PHASE

1st Sept 2025 - 31st Jan 2026

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Register
Start your journey by completing the online registration form on The Earth Prize website. Registration is open from September 1st, 2025 until January 31st, 2026.
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Form your team
You can choose to participate individually or as part of a team of up to five students (including yourself) from any class, grade, or school.

Once all team members have registered individually online, you will nominate a Team Lead. The Team Lead will create the team in The Earth Prize Submissions Portal (available from mid-October) and invite each member to join.
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Spark imagination
Our learning content will provide knowledge, inspiration and tools. All The Earth Prize Participants can watch them on demand. Learn more about the world’s current environmental challenges and hear directly from people whose ideas have had a positive impact. Get the inspiration and skills you need to get thinking.
Learn more
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Get started
We are looking for ideas that tackle environmental challenges and accelerate positive change. Find an issue you are passionate about and figure out how you could solve it - and then tell us all about it.

Head over to the Submissions Portal to complete your first tasks!
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Fresh ideas
Now you can submit your Fresh Idea: your proposed solution to tackle an important environmental challenge. Remember, The Earth Prize will consider a wide range of projects: local, national and global in scope; new ideas and existing student projects; in the form of organizations, enterprises and campaigns.
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Mentoring
Do you have a question? Is something unclear? Do you need guidance? Throughout the competition, university students passionate about sustainability and entrepreneurship will provide support both through The Earth Prize Mentorship Portal and one-to-one mentoring sessions on our The Earth Prize Community on Discord.

THE EARTH PRIZE SCHOLARS ANNOUNCEMENT

16th Feb 2026

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Scholars
The strongest Fresh Ideas from each Region will be awarded The Earth Prize Scholars distinction, which recognizes submissions of outstanding quality.

SCHOLARS PHASE

16th Feb - 9th Mar 2026

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Final Idea
Scholars will now work on their Final Idea, an improved and refined version of the Fresh Idea.
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Adjudicating Panel
The Adjudicating Panel will evaluate the Scholar teams based on their Final Idea submission and will propose seven teams to become the Regional Winners and enter the Regional Winners Phase.

REGIONAL WINNER PHASE

10th Mar - 14th Apr 2026

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Mentors and Ambassadors
The seven teams proposed to become The Earth Prize Regional Winners by the Adjudicating Panel will participate in one-to-one mentoring sessions with The Earth Prize Mentors and Ambassadors.
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Presentation
The teams will present their Final Idea to the Adjudicating Panel in a live Q&A session.

THE EARTH PRIZE REGIONAL WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT

15th Apr - 21st Apr 2026

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Regional Winners
The Earth Prize 2026 Regional Winners are announced on The Earth Prize website and social media. The 7 Regional Winners will each be awarded 12,500 USD to implement their project.

PUBLIC VOTING PHASE

21st Apr - 28th Apr 2026

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Public Voting
The public will be able to vote their favourite idea out of the seven Regional Winners.

THE EARTH PRIZE AWARDS CEREMONY

29th April 2026

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Ceremony
  • The Earth Prize 2026 Global Winner is announced.
  • The three Mentors of the Year are announced each receiving a $2,500 prize.

Do you still have questions?

EVALUATION CRITERIA

REGISTRATION PHASE

All teams that have successfully completed their registration on our website will automatically enter the Submissions Phase of the competition.

SUBMISSION PHASE

At the Submissions Phase, the Fresh Idea will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Applicability

The Fresh Idea takes into account the essential steps needed to bring the solution to life and demonstrates awareness of potential obstacles for the implementation of the solution for a prolonged period of time.

Innovativeness

The proposed solution - or any of the elements of its implementation process - is unique (it does not exist and it has not been proposed already by anyone else) and disruptive. The project differentiates itself from any other idea/initiative in the identified environmental sustainability context by at least one distinctive feature that defines the project’s impact potential.

Scalability

The Fresh Idea takes into account the possibility for the team or other individuals to replicate or adapt the idea in a different geographical location to serve a larger or a new target and whether there is a real-life need for the solution elsewhere.

Relevance

The Fresh Idea demonstrates that the proposed solution is needed and applicable to the selected geographical setting. If the solution has potential to be scaled up, it can be adapted according to the needs of different regions and customized for new target users.

Inspirational Impact

The Fresh Idea demonstrates the ability to raise awareness about the team's identified environmental problem and to inspire others within their community or elsewhere.

Regional Winners Phase

At the Regional Winners Phase, the Scholars' submissions will be evaluated by the Adjudicating Panel to select the seven (7) Regional Winners. Each of the two (2) submissions will be evaluated using specific criteria and weighting.

80%

Final idea

The Adjudicating Panel’s evaluation of the pitch video will taking into account the following aspects:

  • Applicability
  • Innovativeness
  • Inspirational Impact
  • Relevance
  • Scalability

20%

The Pitch Video

The Adjudicating Panel’s evaluation of the pitch video will taking into account the following aspects:

  • How clearly the video explains the problem, solution, and impact of their Idea
  • How logically the information presented in the video flows
  • How well the video draws in the audience

THE ADJUDICATING PANEL

Agustín Ocaña Escobar

Chair of the Panel

Agustín Ocaña Escobar is the Chairperson and Founder of the Global Youth Coalition (GYC), an organization dedicated to youth empowerment, climate action, and sustainable development. His leadership has driven youth engagement across international climate platforms, including the UNFCCC and COP summits.

With a background in Biotechnology Engineering, Education, and Corporate Social Responsibility, Agustín merges technical expertise with a passion for social impact. He also serves as Global Head of Advocacy for Youthinkgreen Germany, focusing on sustainable energy and youth leadership.

Through GYC’s programs like the Global Youth Climate Training (GYCT) and Reeforesting4Peace (R4P), Agustín has mobilized thousands of young changemakers for environmental projects. Based in Hong Kong with a global reach, he collaborates with institutions like Oxford University and grassroots movements to promote resilience and sustainability. His work also explores AI in climate action, advocating for ethical and impactful technology solutions.

Agustín’s visionary leadership inspires youth worldwide.

Count me in

Registrations open soon, get ready to join the next wave of changemakers.

NEED SOME INSPIRATION?

Meet The Earth Prize 2025 Winners
and Runners-up

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