Expert scrutiny to put the right leaders in front of the world.
15 Finalists were selected from The Earthshot Prize’s database of nearly 7,000 nominations across 169 countries, supported by a global network of over 363 nominators, and an Expert Advisory Panel of more than 150 specialists, alongside assessment and research by The Earthshot Prize’s selection team and partners.
From a pool of thousands nominated solutions to 15 finalists.
Each year the Prize narrows a pool of thousands of nominated solutions to 15 finalists, who are celebrated on a global stage.
The hardest judgement in that funnel is credibility: sustainability competitions repeatedly fail by championing solutions that inspire but have no viable path to scale.
At the sharp end of the assessment, every recommendation has to hold up to expert scrutiny and put the right leaders in front of the world.
Solution expertise with a value chain perspective.
I served as an independent assessment consultant across multiple phases of the prize assessment.
The Earthshot Prize is underpinned by a simple equation:
Urgency + Optimism = Action, as an assessment consultant my role was to verifying nominees against the equation.
In each phase, I reviewed the nominee and expert evidence, to understand their credibility, scalability and leadership towards positive tipping points, writing up a clear report and recommendation.
Knowing what will scale getting the right proof.
Before, each assigned nominee was a rich but unverified file, with open questions and no clear verdict on finalist-worthiness. After, each had a verified evidence base, a documented review and a recommendation, ready to move through to the next stage
I helped The Earthshot Prize separate the genuinely scalable from the merely inspiring, turning open nominee files into verified, decision-ready recommendations at critical stages of its search for 15 global finalists.
"Courtney supported The Earthshot Prize's 2026 process as one of our Prize Assessors, reviewing a portfolio of solutions across multiple Earthshots. Their work combined research and structured interviews to deliver clear, well-evidenced reports that supported our assessment of potential finalists. We were really grateful to have Courtney as part of the team, helping us identify and select the leaders driving environmental change."
