Three young entrepreneurs working on solutions to some of the world’s toughest environmental challenges have been named the 2025 Young Champions of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
This year’s winners – from India, Kenya, and the United States – are tackling issues that range from plastic pollution and unsustainable fashion to invasive species and water scarcity.
Their innovations demonstrate how youth-led enterprises are advancing the circular economy while enhancing lives and preserving ecosystems.
The Young Champions of the Earth programme was relaunched this year in collaboration with American clean-tech executive and philanthropist Chris Kemper, UNEP’s Advocate for Partnerships.
Winners each receive US$20,000 in seed capital, technical mentoring, communications training, and access to a global platform to share and scale their solutions.
The three champions also participated in the first-ever Planet A pitch competition, where they competed for a US$100,000 growth grant and a potential US$1 million seed investment in a future fundraising round.
The event is being filmed for Planet A, a new YouTube channel launched with support from the Christopher Kemper Foundation, which aims to inspire environmental awareness and action.
Turning ideas into impact
Jinali Mody (28, India) is the founder of Banofi Leather, a women-led enterprise producing plant-based leather from banana crop waste.
By re-purposing agricultural by-products, Banofi offers a sustainable alternative to animal and synthetic leather.
The process dramatically cuts water consumption, avoids toxic waste, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, making it a viable response to the fast-fashion industry’s environmental toll.
Joseph Nguthiru (27, Kenya) is a climate-tech engineer whose company, HyaPak, transforms the invasive water hyacinth clogging Lake Naivasha into biodegradable packaging bags and seedling wrappers.
By turning an ecological problem into a business opportunity, HyaPak not only reduces reliance on single-use plastics but also contributes to restoring lake ecosystems and improving soil health.
Noemi Florea (24, United States) founded Cycleau, a compact household system that recycles greywater from sinks, showers, and laundry into safe drinking water.
Designed in consultation with marginalized communities, Cycleau reduces water waste and energy use while offering a decentralized solution to water scarcity that can be deployed in both urban and rural settings.
A call to action
Announcing the awards, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, underscored the urgency of empowering young innovators:
“The lives of our children and our children’s children are already being dramatically impacted by the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and waste. I commend these inspiring Young Champions of the Earth for their innovations, for the benefit of this and future generations.”
Since its establishment in 2017, the Young Champions of the Earth initiative has honored 30 young leaders under 30, providing visibility and support to youth-driven ideas that protect the environment and accelerate sustainable development.
Past winners have gone on to grow thriving enterprises and influence environmental policy at both local and global levels.
For philanthropist and climate entrepreneur Chris Kemper, who co-founded Planet A and took part in the judging, this year’s applicants showed the scale of youth ambition.
“I’m honored to support the Young Champions program in my philanthropic role with the United Nations. From over 5,000 entrepreneurs around the world, it was difficult to select only three winners for the 2025 Young Champions program, but these three leaders stood out for their passion, drive, execution, and innovation,” he said.
Stories to be shared
As part of the programme, each champion was provided with a smartphone video kit and mentoring to document their journey in their own words and images.
Their self-filmed stories, along with a newswire video package and photographs, are available to media outlets and will also be featured in an upcoming Planet A documentary this October.
With the prize and upcoming pitch competition, UNEP hopes to amplify youth-driven solutions that contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.
The three champions now join a growing community of entrepreneurs demonstrating how creativity, science, and innovation can respond to the planet’s most pressing crises.
About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment.
It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
About Planet A
Planet A is a new YouTube channel launched with the support of The Christopher Kemper Foundation.
Designed to spark environmental action, it brings together creators, experts, and partners to raise awareness and drive solutions through educational stories, contests, and collaborations.
This is ok. Let’s profile the Kenyan and do a story specifically on him and his work.
