The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced the selection of three environmental entrepreneurs from India, Kenya and the United States as the 2025 Young Champions of the Earth.
The winners are recognized for groundbreaking contributions that advance a global circular economy and improve environmental outcomes by treating wastewater, expanding access to clean water, tackling plastic pollution, and creating sustainable alternatives to conventional materials.
Further, the award recipients, according to a press statement, will receive seed funding, mentoring, communications support, and a global platform to showcase and scale their solutions.
The 2025 Young Champions of the Earth include 27-year-old Joseph Nguthiru from Kenya, a climate-tech engineer whose company HyaPak converts the invasive species hyacinth in Lake Naivasha into packaging bags and biodegradable seedling wrappers. By replacing single-use plastic products, HyaPak makes agricultural lands healthier and offsets CO₂ emissions.
Another champion is 28-year-old Jinali Mody from India, a biochemistry graduate from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai and the Yale School of Environment who founded Banofi Leather, an India-based women-led company aiming to make the fast fashion business by producing leather alternatives made from banana crop waste. Compared to conventional leather, Banofi drastically reduces water use, toxic waste, and CO₂ emissions.
The other one is 24-year-old Noemi Florea from the United States (U.S.), a climate innovator who in consultation with dozens of marginalized communities, founded Cycleau, a compact water reuse system that transforms greywater into drinking water. Retrofitted under sinks, showers, and laundry units, Cycleau significantly reduces wastewater, using much less energy than alternative systems.
In retrospect, the Young Champions program founded by UNEP in 2017, was relaunched this year in partnership with American Cleantech Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris Kemper, who in 2023 was designated as UNEP’s Advocate for Partnerships to mobilize resources and action around today’s most urgent environmental issues.
Kemper, who also doubles as the Chairman, Founder and CEO of the U.S. climate tech company Palmetto and a climate philanthropist, co-founded Planet A this year, which is a new YouTube channel to drive environmental awareness and action through the support of The Christopher Kemper Foundation.
The CEO expressed honour to support the Young Champions program in my philanthropic role with the United Nations where over 5,000 amazing entrepreneurs around the world were interested in the program – all of whom are seeking to make a positive impact on the planet.
“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,” stated Kemper, who participated in the selection of this year’s winners.
He extended a huge congratulations to the three Young Champions of the Earth for their successful achievements and in winning the highly competitive award.
Notably, the three Young Champions of the Earth winners each received US$20,000 and will afterwards have an opportunity to compete in the first-ever Planet A pitch competition for a business growth grant of US$100,000 and a possible seed investment of US$1 million committed to a future fundraising round.
Similarly, Planet A is filming the competition and the Young Champions leading up to it and is set to be released on Planet A’s YouTube channel in October.
“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,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
Meanwhile, the Young Champions of the Earth prize is UNEP’s flagship initiative on youth engagement and since 2017, it has recognized 30 young trailblazers—activists, entrepreneurs, and environmental innovators under the age of 30—for their outstanding ideas to protect the environment.
By Michael Omondi
