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T H E W EALT H REPORT 2 022
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Selected finalist fact files
The ultimate investment
Hannah Jones, CEO of the The Earthshot Prize, tells Andrew Shirley why Prince William’s ambitious clarion call to the globe’s green innovators could help to save us all from environmental catastrophe
S
olving
environmental,
It seems obvious that innovation on a huge
social and governance
scale is key to tackling climate change and many
is
world, but progress wasn’t being made quickly
(ESG)-related problems nothing
Hannah
new
Jones.
for
She
spent more than 20 years working for Nike, including a stint as the leisurewear giant’s first
Chief Sustainability Officer, before taking up her new role last year.
inaugural Earthshot ceremony and the COP26
“It was honestly a no brainer,” she says,
my life. I felt very clear that I wanted to spend it working to help the world become more sustainable in whatever way I could.”
But how, I wonder, will Earthshot, which
thinking and new business models, as well as
solve five environmental issues (see panel),
materials. Everything would need to be rethought
they often burn, with catastrophic consequences:
WOTA, a Japanese start-up, wants to improve
turn back the tide. Just three years on, its green
hydrogen technology could change the way we power our world. Enapter’s AEM Electrolyser
technology turns renewable electricity into emission-free hydrogen gas. Developed quicker and cheaper than once thought possible, the
generated every year. What farmers cannot sell in some areas, air pollution has cut life expectancy
by a decade. Takachar, a social enterprise set up by New Delhi resident Vidyut Mohan, has developed a cheap, small-scale, portable technology that attaches to tractors in remote
farms. The machine converts crop residues into sellable bio-products like fuel and fertiliser, reducing smoke emissions by up to 98%.
have to do is understand how to support
pivotal role in connecting the dots and creating
Jones says almost 800 projects around the
hundreds of eco-innovations, all of which will
EARTHSHOT CATEGORIES •
Protect and restore nature
world were put forward for the 2021 prize, and while the prize money – £1 million per category
incubating, accelerating and scaling innovation
is arguably the bigger win. “Often innovators
Clean our air
make a difference?
•
Revive our oceans
for eco-innovators around the world.”
an agent of change,” she explains.
sustainable livelihoods. What we collectively
our economies and build communities and
• •
Build a waste-free world Fix our climate
Key, of course, to Earthshot’s long-term
potential investors, such as Michael Bloomberg,
winners will receive from business experts and
•
decisive changes to how we live our lives, run
go through our vetting process.”
success is the enthusiasm and unrivalled
face a lonely challenge to get their ideas off
“We have less than a decade to make
what is almost like a marketplace of potentially
– grabbed the headlines, the support that
and even governments to submit ideas to
in terms of sustainability. That’s when I fell passionately in love with the role of innovation as
now has bases in Germany, Thailand and Italy, to
innovations that have real potential as solutions.”
“The first round of lockdowns gave me time to
invites entrepreneurs, NGOs, companies, cities
innovations across supply chains, processes and
Nearly 40% of the world’s population is on
powering industry and heating homes.
made her the obvious choice to lead it.
climate change talks in Glasgow.
“We were going to need new ways of
Globally, US$120 billion of agricultural waste is
island, Vaitea Cowan co-founded Enapter, which
track to experience “water stress” by 2050. water security by helping people reuse wastewater. Founded in 2014, the company’s first product, WOTA BOX, converts more than 98% of water waste into clean, fresh water.
Fifty times more efficient than conventional water treatment plants and far smaller, it
can be delivered at scale and requires no existing infrastructure.
Prize was his solution, and Jones’ experience
think about how I wanted to spend the rest of
when we speak, is just back from both the
Born on a climate-change affected South Pacific
conservationist Prince William. The Earthshot
one of the things that became very clear was make the business less bad,” says Jones who,
WOTA BOX FINALIST: Build a waste-free world
enough for the UK’s future monarch and ardent
when I ask why she decided to jump on board.
that it wasn’t going to just be about trying to
Takachar WINNER: Clean our air
technology is already fuelling cars and planes,
of the other environmental issues affecting the
“Nike was one of the first companies to get
into sustainability. As we went on the journey,
The first round of lockdowns gave me time to think about how I wanted to spend the rest of my life
Enapter WINNER: Fix our climate
the ground. We are creating support networks
access of its Royal patron, but Jones’ skill at
will play a vital role in a decade that she says is crucial to the future of the Earth and everything that lives on it.
“Obviously policy matters, but taking those
She also hopes the initiative will help investors
innovations to scale is going to tip whether or not
access genuinely green opportunities or supply
disasters and crisis, or whether we are actually
and companies, who often complain it is hard to chains. “We think that we can play a really
We have less than a decade to make decisive changes to how we live our lives
we face waking up on 1st January 2030 facing on a pathway to change.”
MEET THE WOMAN SAVING INDONESIA’S CORAL REEFS
