Deadline Date: June 15, 2026
The Zayed Sustainability Prize is a global award established by the Abu Dhabi Government to recognize impactful solutions that advance sustainability and humanitarian development in line with the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The Prize focuses on Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action, and Global High Schools, with the aim of rewarding innovative, impactful, and inspiring solutions that address pressing global challenges while promoting sustainable and human-centered development. Managed by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, the Zayed Sustainability Prize supports organizations that have already demonstrated real-world impact. It does not support early-stage startups or untested concepts, but rather proven solutions that are technically and commercially viable, adopted by the market, and capable of scaling their positive outcomes.
Across the Health, Food, Energy, and Water categories, applications are assessed based on innovation, impact, and inspiration. Innovation emphasizes unique value propositions, transformative approaches, and viable solutions that address real needs. Impact focuses on measurable improvements to people’s lives, resilience to challenges, strong governance, and clear plans for using the prize funds to expand benefits. Inspiration reflects alignment with Sheikh Zayed’s values of sustainability and human development, and the ability of solutions to motivate wider societal change. The total prize fund amounts to US $5.9 million. Each of the Health, Food, Energy, Water, and Climate Action categories receives US $1 million, while the Global High Schools category distributes US $900,000 across six schools, with US $150,000 awarded to each selected school. This funding enables winners to scale their solutions, deepen impact, and inspire further sustainable development worldwide.
The Climate Action category similarly rewards initiatives that demonstrate tangible contributions to environmental sustainability and climate resilience, while the Global High Schools category supports student-led projects from six global regions: The Americas, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific. These projects emphasize youth leadership, education, and local sustainability action.
For more information, visit Zayed Sustainability Prize.
