The Earthshot Prize has revealed the 15 finalists of its 2025 prize who are in the running to win five £1 million prizes across five categories.
Founded by Prince William in 2020, the Prize awards £1 million prizes across five categories: Revive our Oceans, Fix our Climate, Build a Waste-free World, Protect and Restore Nature and Clean our Air.
The Earthshot Prize Winners will be announced at the fifth Earthshot Prize Awards, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday, 5 November, as part of Earthshot Week.
In the ‘Build a Waste-free World’ category, the three nominees are Shanghai-based ATRenew, Lagos Fashion Week in Nigeria, and Quay Quarter Tower in Australia.
Quay Quarter Tower is the ‘world’s first’ fully upcycled skyscraper. Originally the tallest building in Sydney when it opened in 1976, Quay Quarter Tower has been upcycled and retrofitted, instead of being demolished.
When work was complete in 2022, the team of architects, engineers, building contractors, and developers had managed to retain 65% of the original structure and 98% of the core.
The office space was doubled from 45,000 to 102,000 sqm, increasing its capacity from 4,500 to 9,000 people, all while accommodating the ‘world’s first’ retrofit of double-deck elevators.
Based in Shanghai, China, ATRenew aims to make it easier and affordable for people to trade in old phones, laptops and watches to give them a second life.
It uses an AI-powered system known as Matrix that sorts, tests, quality controls, grades and prices up to 100,000 devices daily.
In just five years, ATRenew has processed 150 million electronics, equivalent to every smartphone in the UK and France combined. The company is already active in China, Japan and Sweden and expanding into Southeast Asia and Latin America.
By 2030, ATRenew’s goal is for its AI system to boost efficiency by 20% and second-hand electronic recycling rates in China from 10% to 30%.
Lagos Fashion Week, now in its 15th year, has grown to become one of Africa’s largest and most influential fashion events.
Every designer wishing to show at Lagos Fashion Week must demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practice, including how materials are sourced and dyed, and how garments are produced and transported.
Christiana Figueres, Chair of The Earthshot Prize, commented: “At this pivotal halfway point in this decisive decade for our planet, it is a profound honour to lead The Earthshot Prize in highlighting these impressive solutions.
“These 15 Finalists have emerged from a rigorous and truly global search, which is designed to be inclusive and representative of the ingenuity rising in all sectors and across all corners of the world.
“Our Finalists are extraordinary examples of climate leadership and a beacon for the urgent optimism we need to accelerate change.”