Notpla wins The Earthshot Prize 2022
Notpla wins The Earthshot Prize 2022, a “Nobel-like prize for the environment” founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation.
Branded by Design Bridge and Partners, Notpla is recognised as a ground-breaking solution to repair and regenerate the planet.
The Earthshot Prize, a global environmental prize to discover, accelerate, and scale ground-breaking solutions to repair and regenerate the planet, was awarded by Prince and Princess of Wales in a ceremony in Boston and includes £1 million prize fund to further innovations.
Notpla, the revolutionary sustainable packaging business and Cannes Lions Design Grand Prix winner, wins the “Building a waste-free world” Earthshot, recognising the outstanding contributions to build a world where nothing goes to waste, and where leftovers of one process become the raw materials of the next, just like they do in nature.
Notpla co-founder, Pierre Paslier, said on the BBC: "When Rodrigo and I started Notpla eight years ago in our student kitchen, we would have never imagined we would be here today.
"No-one wants to live in a world full of plastic waste but it's not too late to act. There's never been a greater time to use natural solutions to solve the plastic challenge."
Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot which united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon, The Earthshot Prize aims to catalyse an Earthshot challenge to urgently encourage and scale innovative solutions that can help put the world firmly on a trajectory towards a stable climate, where communities, oceans, and biodiversity thrive in harmony by 2030.
We are proud to be a part of Notpla's story.
Watch Pierre Paslier, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Notpla, in conversation with Mark Wood, Senior Creative Director, Design Bridge and Partners, about Notpla’s potential value in the world. Join the conversation on YouTube.
Notpla, or not plastic, was created with a mission to make packaging disappear. It provides a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic packaging using a seaweed-based material that naturally decomposes in weeks, compared to 700 years for plastic. Its impact is wide and varied. Seaweed farmed for its production captures carbon twenty-times faster than trees, addressing one of the key causes of the climate crisis. The packaging itself means less plastic in our seas, reducing ocean waste. Meanwhile, farms boost fish population, and seaweed farming creates new opportunities for fishing communities.
Notpla can be used directly to replace plastic cups at sporting festivals, as sachets for condiments, and as a coating for cardboard, flexible film, and paper to create a wide range of products for multiple industries including takeaway food boxes. And, with new materials in development that could one day replace single-use plastic packaging applications across various industries and at a global scale.
"Fourteen million tonnes of plastic enter our oceans each year. We founded Notpla when we discovered the solution lies in our oceans too. We are already replacing plastic that plagues our seas, and working with seaweed farms that give back to the environment and the local economy. Thank you for recognising us as we take our next big step and eliminate single-use plastic for good!"
— Pierre Paslier, Co-Founder & CEO, Notpla