The firm is the presently the sole law firm to be chosen for the alliance, which spans five continents
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has joined a global alliance to support the finalists of the Earthshot Prize, an environment-friendly initiative launched by England’s HRH Prince William last year.
The Earthshot Prize is a global prize that honours those who identify and scale the best solutions for repairing the planet’s environment. The objective of the Earthshot Prize Global Alliance is to provide support to and scale innovations by the 15 candidates shortlisted for the prize.
HSF is currently the first and only law firm to be part of the alliance, which is composed of influential international companies such as Bloomberg L.P., Deloitte, Hitachi, Ingka Group (IKEA), Microsoft, Unilever, Vodacom, Walmart, The Multichoice Group, Natura&Co, Safaricom, Salesforce and Arup. The alliance spans five continents, with additional members to be named over coming years.
Each alliance member has displayed a commitment to responsible business, HSF explained.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to a project as ambitious in scope and scale as The Earthshot Prize. As a global alliance member, we will be supporting The Earthshot Prize and the finalists, using our skills, network and resources to bring about meaningful change for humanity and our planet,” CEO Justin D'Agostino MH said. “It is incredibly exciting for all of us to work towards a sustainable future by growing and learning together.”
The Earthshot Prize focuses on identifying innovative environmental solutions that cater to the following five goals:
- Protect and Restore Nature
- Clean Our Air
- Revive Our Oceans
- Build a Waste-Free World
- Fix Our Climate
The prize will be up for grabs every year from 2021 to 2030. Following a six-month global search, the finalists for 2021 will be announced this month; subsequently, five will be named the first-ever Earthshot Prize winners.
The winners will be determined by The Earthshot Prize Council, comprising international icons like Prince William, Sir David Attenborough, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Indra Nooyi, Shakira, Christiana Figueres, Luisa Neubauer and Cate Blanchett. The prize consists of a £1m grant to each winner.
The inaugural Earthshot Prize awards ceremony will be held on 17 October.