The highest level in the history of the award / "Zayed Sustainability" Applications close for the 2027 session and will witness more than 10,000 applications

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ABU DHABI, July 13, 2017 (WAM) – The Zayed Sustainability Prize, the leading award launched by the United Arab Emirates to honor innovative sustainability solutions that contribute to addressing global challenges, announced the closing of applications for participation in the 2027 session, with record participation levels of 10,233 applications from 177 countries in its six categories, which include health, food, energy, water, climate action, and global high schools.

In its eighteenth year, the award continues to attract a growing number of small and medium-sized companies, non-profit institutions, and high schools, which offer innovative solutions that contribute to improving the quality of life, especially in the communities that need it most.

This year’s applications for participation reflect a growing trend towards enhancing flexibility, the ability to adapt, and creating a sustainable impact, relying on practical solutions that focus primarily on the needs of local communities and address various pressing global challenges.

These solutions include many areas, including healthcare supported by artificial intelligence, agricultural technologies, decentralized energy systems, enhancing access to groundwater, and circular economy applications, which contribute to expanding access to basic services and advancing comprehensive development.

The current cycle recorded a 32% increase in the number of applications for participation compared to the previous cycle, reflecting the growing global momentum towards adopting innovations that are widely applicable and based on the participation of local communities.

His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, said on this occasion that the award continues its firm commitment to contributing to the implementation of the vision of the wise leadership and supporting balanced and comprehensive development, with a focus on consolidating the legacy of the founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him.

He expressed pride in the award recording unprecedented levels of participation this year, which reflects the growing global interest in finding practical solutions that improve the resilience of societies, strengthen basic service systems, and achieve a sustainable impact.

He pointed out that the participants in this year’s session presented innovative solutions led by local competencies and combining artificial intelligence techniques and adaptation capabilities to address pressing challenges in areas that suffer from limited availability of reliable basic services at an appropriate cost.

His Excellency affirmed the award’s continued efforts and support for pioneers around the world who seek to provide effective solutions aimed at serving humanity and making a positive impact on the lives of communities.

More than two-thirds of applications for participation came from countries with developing and emerging economies, led by Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Kenya, and the United Arab Emirates.

The award also witnessed distinguished levels of participation from advanced economies, including the United States of America and the United Kingdom, which reflects the growing presence and role of the award globally.

The Climate Action category accounted for the largest share of participation applications with a total of (2,505 applications), followed by the Food category (2,261 applications), then Health (1,807 applications), International Secondary Schools (1,710 applications), Energy (994 applications), and Water (956 applications).

The solutions presented showed a set of key trends within each award category, which included:

Health: Solutions that focus on expanding access to healthcare services in resource-limited and underserved environments, most notably AI-powered diagnostic solutions, low-cost medical devices, healthcare delivery models, and healthcare financing solutions, which enhance the efficiency and responsiveness of health systems.

Food: Solutions for farmers, including agricultural support and extension services, agricultural technologies, food safety technologies, food product processing, and value chain improvement, which contribute to building more efficient and resilient food systems.

Energy: Solutions that focus on energy efficiency and storage, decentralized renewable energy, smart grids, and energy applications that contribute to raising productivity, reflecting a growing interest in aspects related to affordability, reliability, and energy demand management.

Water: Innovations that focus on enhancing groundwater access and monitoring, wastewater treatment and reuse, water desalination, water quality management, and improving consumption efficiency, supporting the conservation of water resources and improving access to them in water-scarce communities.

Climate Action: Solutions focused on improving adaptive capacities and strengthening the resilience of communities, circular economy models, waste reduction, nature-based solutions, natural resource conservation, and climate change mitigation.

International High Schools: Student projects have shown an increasing trend towards developing integrated solutions that link multiple sectors, including renewable energy, water purification, waste management, food production, biodiversity protection, and community awareness initiatives, reflecting the desire of young students to adopt a holistic thinking approach in addressing local challenges.

With the closing of applications, the award begins the stage of evaluating applications for participation, where all applications will undergo an independent review process to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria, followed by a careful evaluation process by a selection committee that includes an elite group of international experts, and then the winners will be chosen by the jury in September 2026.

The award will announce the winners during the awards ceremony on January 12, 2027.

As for the categories designated for institutions, the winner of each category will receive one million US dollars, while each finalist will receive 150,000 US dollars.

Six winning high schools, each representing a different global region, will receive US$150,000 each to implement or expand their projects, while each finalist will receive US$25,000.

Since its launch, the award has contributed, through the solutions of the 139 previous winners, to making a positive impact in the lives of more than 411 million people around the world, consolidating its position as a leading global platform in support of sustainable and comprehensive development.