The Earthshot Prize was launched in October 2020 by Prince William and designed and incubated by The Royal Foundation, an international centre for philanthropy led by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Working in partnership with organisations and individuals around the world, it strives to research, develop, and scale the most impactful solutions to society’s greatest challenges. The Earthshot Prize is designed to incentivise changes that will repair our planet over the next ten years.
In 2020 Darwin College was one of around 200 organisations across the world invited to submit nominations for the Prize. Sanergy, one of Darwin’s four nominations, has been selected as a finalist. It harnesses a natural method of converting human waste to create environmentally sustainable animal food, biofuel and fertilizer and therefore provides a novel and scalable solution to achieving a waste-free world.
Professor Stephen J Toope, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, said: “Congratulations to Earthshot Prize finalist Sanergy, nominated by Darwin College. Sanergy’s work in building sanitation designed for vulnerable urban communities and converting it into organic agricultural products is a shining example of the kind of contribution to society the University of Cambridge champions in its own research and seeks to support with its innovations and partnerships around the world.”
David Auerbach, Co-founder of Sanergy, said: “The rapid growth of cities around the world has created a sanitation and waste management crisis which affects the health of millions of people and the future of our planet. We’re honoured to appear as a Finalist for The Earthshot Prize to bring attention to this issue and showcase our solution: Sanergy’s circular economy model for safe sanitation and waste management. Being part of the inaugural Earthshot Prize will help Sanergy further scale to safely repurpose one million tonnes of waste per year by 2026 within Kenya and other developing countries, improving the life of millions.”
Image: Kibera slum, Nairobi, Kenya
Credit: Ninara
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge