Business Wire

Zayed Sustainability Prize Celebrates Innovators Driving Global Progress at 2025 Awards

Share

Today, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, recognised the 2025 winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize. Celebrating the transformational impact of 11 pioneering organisations and high schools from across the world, the Prize reflects the UAE’s commitment to fostering scalable solutions to global challenges and empowering communities in their pursuit of sustainable prosperity.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250114367660/en/

Zayed Sustainability Prize celebrates innovators driving global progress at 2025 Awards (Photo: AETOSWire)

In a Ceremony held during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) and attended by 11 Heads of State, Ministers, and business leaders, H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed awarded the winners for their remarkable achievements, encouraging continued innovation in every corner of the globe.

H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said: “The UAE remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering sustainable development and empowering communities across the world through innovation. The Zayed Sustainability Prize inspires impactful solutions that address critical social and environmental challenges. By nurturing these efforts, we are not only creating a more sustainable future for all, but also honouring the legacy of Sheikh Zayed, whose vision for global progress and humanitarianism continues to guide us.”

H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, lauded the incredible work being done to deliver innovative and scalable solutions that address the world’s most pressing challenges.

H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: “Today, we recognise a remarkable group of organisations and high schools that are driving tangible progress toward a more prosperous future. This year’s Prize winners showcase solutions that leverage advanced technologies, including AI, enhance local resilience, and deliver transformative, scalable impact worldwide. In doing so, they embody the power of progress in accelerating sustainable development and inclusive socio-economic growth.”

The 2025 Prize winners were elected by a distinguished panel of Jury members, across the six categories of Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action and Global High Schools.

The Chair of the Jury and former President of the Republic of Iceland, H.E. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, said: “This year’s winners have showcased extraordinary innovation in addressing critical global challenges. They are tackling a huge range of problems, focused on reducing the damage from climate change and building more sustainable access to healthcare, energy, food and water, especially in underserved communities. These winners have the potential to drive significant, scalable impact around the world. Their contributions will undoubtedly move us closer towards achieving crucial sustainable development goals.”

In the Health category, India’s Periwinkle Technologies was awarded the Prize for its portable, AI-enabled cervical cancer screening device. Operating independently of electricity, the device is accessible even in remote or underserved areas. It provides results at the point of care within 30 seconds, enabling early detection and significantly improving women’s health outcomes, having already screened over 300,000 women across India.

In the Food category, Nigeria’s NaFarm Foods won for its innovative hybrid solar food dryers that prevent post-harvest losses, reducing both food wastage and carbon consumption. To-date, 80 dryers have been distributed across six Nigerian states, benefitting over 65,000 farmers and lowering carbon emissions by 50,000 metric tonnes annually, whilst simultaneously empowering over 18,000 women and youth through up-skilling programmes.

In the Energy category, Palki Motors, an SME from Bangladesh, was awarded the Prize for its locally manufactured, affordable, and lightweight electric vehicles, designed specifically for commercial drivers. Priced at an accessible US $4,990, these vehicles cater to the unique transportation needs of the region. Palki Motors also operates a network of solar powered battery swap stations, which has already benefitted over 23,000 people.

In the Water category, SkyJuice Foundation, an NPO from Australia, won for its low-cost, easy to use, gravity-powered, water treatment solution, which uses low-pressure membrane filters to provide clean drinking water without the need for chemicals, pumps, or external energy sources. Their SkyHydrantmodel provides clean, potable water to entire communities. Over 3 million people have already benefitted from their 9,000 installations across 74 countries, which have collectively produced 1 billion gallons of safe drinking water.

In the Climate Action category, OpenMap Development Tanzania won for its innovative mapping solutions, which merge community-driven data collection with advanced technologies such as drones, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing. To date, the NPO has benefitted 140,000 people, engaged over 1,000 youth in community health efforts, and created 100 jobs.

Finally, the Zayed Sustainability Prize provides unparalleled opportunities for the next generation of sustainability leaders through its Global High Schools category, empowering youth to drive critical progress in their communities. As of 2025, the Prize’s 56 Global High Schools winners have impacted the lives of over 56,599 students and 480,660 people across the globe.

The 2025 recipients of the Global High Schools awards are Centro de Estudios Tecnológicos del Mar 07 (Mexico) representing The Americas; Sakafia Islamic Senior High School (Ghana), representing Sub-Saharan Africa; Merryland International School (UAE), representing the Middle East & North Africa; Presidential School in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), representing Europe & Central Asia; Janamaitri Multiple Campus (Nepal), representing South Asia; and Te Pā o Rākaihautū (New Zealand), representing East Asia & Pacific.

From providing access to clean energy, nutritious food, and safe water, to improving healthcare and strengthening climate resilience, the 2025 winners’ efforts embody the Prize’s commitment to the power of progress and sustainable innovation.

About the Zayed Sustainability Prize

The Zayed Sustainability Prize is the UAE’s pioneering award for innovative solutions to global challenges.

A tribute to the legacy and vision of the UAE’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Prize aims to drive sustainable development worldwide.

Each year, across the Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action and Global High Schools categories, the Prize rewards organisations and high schools for their groundbreaking solutions to our planet’s most pressing needs.

Through its 117 winners, in 17 years, the Prize has positively impacted over 400 million lives across the globe, inspiring innovators to amplify their impact, and chart a sustainable future for all.

*Source: AETOSWire

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250114367660/en/

Contacts

For more information, contact:
Pietro Vimont
Pietro.Vimont@panterra.global

(c) 2024 Business Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in multiplatform press release distribution.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Duravant to Acquire Pattyn, Provider of Packaging Automation Systems for Bulk and Industrial Applications7.2.2025 15:00:00 CET | Press Release

Duravant LLC (“Duravant”), a global engineered equipment and automation solutions provider to the food processing, packaging and material handling sectors, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Pattyn Group BV (‘Pattyn”), a designer and manufacturer of automation systems specializing in B2B packaging. Pattyn is recognized as the premier leader for delivering comprehensive automation solutions and value-added services for bag-in-box packaging applications. Headquartered in Bruges, Belgium, Pattyn has over 70 years of expertise in machinery design and turnkey systems for counting, weighing, filling, and packing technologies for food, ingredients, and various non-food sectors. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250207117623/en/ “We are extremely excited to partner with Pattyn,” said Mike Kachmer, Chairman and CEO of Duravant. “Pattyn has a rich history delivering high quality

Leclanché and Pinnacle Advance Strategic Partnership – Milestone Reached with Successful Completion of Due Diligence7.2.2025 09:50:00 CET | Press Release

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Leclanché SA (SIX: LECN), a global leader in energy storage solutions, specialised in heavy duty batteries for Marine and Rail customers, is pleased to announce that Pinnacle International Capital Limited has completed the legal, financial and technical due diligence of the Leclanché group to its satisfaction, thereby fulfilling a key condition on the way to the implementation of the strategic partnership. As a next step in the transaction, Pinnacle will conduct an engineering review. The engineering review aims to optimise the agreed business plan and investment. At the same time, Leclanché will be working through an agreed workplan to address the due diligence items that were identified, with the goal of improving the starting point for the strategic partnership and the investment by Pinnacle. Through this transformative strategic partnership, Pinnacle’s investment will help unlock the strategic growth funding required to support Leclanché’s

Salience Labs Closed Series A Round Led by Applied Ventures and ICM HPQC Fund7.2.2025 09:14:00 CET | Press Release

Salience Labs Limited, a leader in photonic solutions targeting connectivity for AI datacenter infrastructure, today announced the successful close of $30 million in Series A financing led by ICM HPQC Fund and Applied Ventures, LLC, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, Inc., to further the development of its optical switches for large scale AI connectivity. Applied Ventures and ICM HPQC Fund are joined by Strategic Investment Fund, Braavos, and continued participation from existing investors Oxford Sciences Enterprises, Cambridge Innovation Capital, and leaders from the global semiconductor industry including Silicon Catalyst and Jalal Bagherli. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250207290130/en/ Image by Shabbir Bashar “What our customers want is a photonic switch to connect their AI clusters that is compatible with existing infrastructure while delivering high bandwidth, low latency and significant pow

Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association Announces 2024 Sake Export Data: Record-High Exports to 80 Countries, Up 6% YoY7.2.2025 04:00:00 CET | Press Release

2024 Sake Export Performance This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250205320328/en/ More people around the world are enjoying Japanese sake (Photo: Business Wire) The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) has released 2024 sake export data. The total export value reached JPY 43.5 billion, a +6% increase from the previous year, with 3.45 million cases (9L equivalent) shipped to a record 80 countries. Since 2020, export value has grown 1.8 times, the average unit price increased 1.3 times, and the number of export destinations expanded by 19. Premium sake markets have seen significant growth in the past five years. Regionally, Asia accounted for 61% of total export value but saw a slight decline YoY. However, South Korea recorded a notable 29% growth, while Thailand and Malaysia also performed well. North America saw a 27% increase, driven by fine-dining adoption. Western Europe grew 18% YoY, expanding 2.5 ti

DNIB.com Reports Internet Has 364.3 Million Domain Name Registrations at the End of the Fourth Quarter of 20246.2.2025 23:19:00 CET | Press Release

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), a global provider of critical internet infrastructure and domain name registry services, today announced that, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report from DNIB.com, the fourth quarter of 2024 closed with 364.3 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), an increase of 2.0 million domain name registrations, or 0.5% compared to the third quarter of 2024. Domain name registrations also increased by 4.4 million, or 1.2%, year over year. The .com and .net TLDs had a combined total of 169.0 million domain name registrations in the domain name base at the end of fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of 0.5 million domain name registrations, or 0.3% compared to the third quarter of 2024. The .com and .net TLDs had a combined decrease of 3.7 million domain name registrations, or 2.1%, year over year. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the .com domain name base totaled 156.3 million domain name registrations and the .net domai

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye