Frontiers Planet Prize: Science for a Sustainable Planet

Frontiers Research Foundation has launched the Planet Prize to recognize and reward exceptional scientists. Three prizes worth a total of CHF 3 million (~USD $3.2m) will be awarded in 2023 to the world’s most innovative sustainability scientists who are able to offer globally scalable solutions which protect and restore planetary health. All domains of science will be considered.

FAQs

How is the ISC involved? The ISC comes in as a partner facilitating submissions from regions and countries who do not yet have in place a mechanism for applications for the prize.
Can anyone apply? Before submitting an application, the ISC invites you to consult the official list of countries and regions who already have a National Representative Body (NRB). We invite you to send us your applications if your country is not on this list and does not have an NRB.
Who should apply? Applications are welcomed from universities, national scientific academies and funding agencies. All submitted research must offer solutions that address at least one of nine planetary boundaries and have the potential for measurable global impact.
What is the criteria? The Planet Prize will honour research published in established peer-reviewed scientific journals in the past two calendar years (date of acceptance: 1 November 2020 to 31 October 2022) that has the greatest potential to help keep the Earth system within planetary boundaries.
Who will judge the prize? A Jury of 100 leading sustainability scientists will be part of the voting panel. A National Champion from each country will be named in order to compile a shortlist, and then three International Champions will be chosen, each of whom will be awarded a Planet Prize of CHF 1 million.

Online Information Session

We invite you to join our information session held on 27 October 2022 (13:00 UTC), led by Jean-Claude Burgelman (Planet Prize Director), and Gilbert De Gregorio, (Head of Partnerships). During this session, they will share the overall mission and objectives of the Planet Prize, the eligibility criteria for scientists, the mechanics of the evaluation process, and the role of the ISC in aggregating nominations.

Even if you are not ready to submit this year, the prize will continue into 2023 and beyond. We therefore invite you to join the information session for future submissions.

Thursday 27 October 2022
13:00 UTC / 15:00 CET
45 Minutes

Can’t attend the webinar?

The session will be recorded. Please contact Gabriela Ivan for the recording: gabriela.ivan@council.science.

Applications

Applications through the ISC process can be submitted through the webform below by 1 December 2022. Applicants who don’t already have a National Representative Body (NRB) are invited to send their submissions featuring research published in established peer-reviewed scientific journals in the past two years.

The Nine Planetary Boundaries

The submitted research must offer solutions addressing at least one of nine planetary boundaries and have the potential for measurable global impact. Sustainability scientists have identified nine planetary boundaries that we cannot cross without risking the collapse of life on Earth as we know it. Johan Rockström and Owen Gaffney have described these boundaries in their book Breaking Boundaries, as well as on the website of the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Action is needed now to prevent us from crossing these boundaries and, where we have already transgressed them, to guide a safe and just transformation of the world back to within Planetary Boundaries.

The Planetary Boundaries by Johan Rockström

Watch | 01:23

Abundance within Planetary Boundaries by Johan Rockström
Watch | 15:33

We look forward to your contributions to this grand challenge that brings together the scientific community across the world, offering major recognition for the most relevant and recent scientific insights that help navigate and secure humanity’s future. For further information, please contact Gabriela Ivan, gabriela.ivan@council.science.