Plastic Pollution Coalition is excited to announce 1% for the Planet as our nominee for The Earthshot Prize 2025. We are honored to be among the 432 official Nominators from 75 countries to select projects with ambitious but achievable goals that have the potential to restore our planet for generations to come.
1% for the Planet uniquely bridges the gap between corporate purpose and grassroots activism, empowering businesses and individuals to invest in a sustainable planet and future generations. Their financial model has become a global movement that is supercharging localized social and environmental solutions across the planet by deploying capital from business to a network of environmental partners with a wide array of solutions, from climate justice and gender equality to indigenous land rights and supply chain sustainability.
–Julia Cohen, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Plastic Pollution Coalition
1% for the Planet is a scalable partnership model between businesses and NGOs globally that unlocks financial support to accelerate collective action for environmental solutions. Using a simple financial mechanism, the 1% for the Planet model allows businesses to certify their commitment to people and planet and helps consumers make informed purchasing decisions by supporting companies who walk the talk. By securing commitments from businesses of all sizes to donate 1% of their annual revenues to vetted environmental organizations, 1% for the Planet has already unlocked and certified more than $675 million for environmental causes.
Other membership models and certifications are mostly voluntary, allowing companies to make pledges and sign on to statements without contributing anything monetarily. Funding is required to scale solutions, and the 1% model is unique in that it mandates a simple percentage of annual sales. There is no corner cutting—businesses either participate or they don’t. This separates real action from greenwashing.
Over the next five years, the 1% team aims to drive an additional $325 million to environmental partners focused on a wide range of solutions, from reducing plastic pollution to restoring biodiversity, delivering a total of $1 billion to support these issues. This could have a significant impact in our collective effort to build a just transition to a healthy, sustainable world.
1% for the Planet is changing business as usual, creating radical transparency, and ensuring planetary health by delivering business resources to environmental solutions. It has become a mechanism for accountability that the general public can trust, serving as a credible seal of commitment that makes it easy for people to support values-aligned brands through a trusted and objective certification.
In 2023 alone, their certified donations from 5,233 businesses benefited 3,703 organizations in over 60 countries. This kind of mobilization has the potential to address major environmental and social issues at a grandiose and global scale. We believe that this growth model deserves The Earthshot Prize to inspire businesses around the world to join this global movement and catalyze solutions that exist. Donating 1% of revenue seems like a small task, but collectively, this model has the power to change the world.
1% for the Planet is truly honored to receive Plastic Pollution Coalition’s nomination for the 2025 Earthshot Prize. We believe our model has the power to transform not only the scale of resources going to environmental solutions, but also the way environmental impact is understood and achieved. Winning the Earthshot Prize would help scale the 1% for the Planet model globally, benefiting people and the planet.
–Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet
What’s Next?
Over the next 6 months, the Earthshot team will utilize a rigorous assessment process to select the 15 most inclusive, impactful, and inspiring solutions to become finalists. These finalists will be announced in fall 2025, and the five winners will be awarded the prize during a ceremony soon after. The Earthshot team is supporting nominees beyond the 15 finalists with new initiatives and expanding the Earthshot Launchpad to connect more nominees with sources of capital. We wish the 1% for the Planet team the best of luck!
Background
Launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in October 2020, The Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious global environment prize in history, inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot which united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon. The prize aims to spark the world’s collective imagination and drive urgent action by supporting and amplifying changemaking environmental and social projects that aim to solve some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Winners of the prize are awarded GBP £1 million to scale their solutions. In addition to the prestigious title, project funding, and exposure from winning the prize, finalists receive mentorship, technical support and resources to help them accelerate their work.
