Earthshot Prize from Korea (어스샷 상): how the nomination route works for Korean solutions

The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award, and a founder might expect to file an application on its website. That route does not exist. Earthshot's own pages route every entry through an Official Nominator, and in Korea that role sits with the Environment Foundation (환경재단).

Can you apply to the Earthshot Prize directly?

No. According to Earthshot's about page, finalists come from submissions gathered from hundreds of Official Nominators worldwide, combined with its own research. It lists no way for the public to submit a nomination directly.

The Prize looks for solutions in five areas: Nature, Air, Oceans, Waste and Climate. Each year 15 solutions become finalists, and five winners each receive £1 million. The home page reports 90 finalists to date.

The nominators page has a filter for nominators that accept "Open Calls". It does not explain how those calls work.

Who is the official nominator in Korea?

The Environment Foundation (환경재단) posted the Korean call on K-Startup on 20 August 2026.

Its notice calls the foundation "Korea's first official Earthshot nominator" (한국 최초 어스샷 공식 노미네이터). Earthshot's own directory lists a Korean body, Korea Green Foundation, with the web address greenfund.org, which is the same domain as the foundation's contact email.

Our catalogue entry for the 2027 call carries the original K-Startup notice. The foundation's Green Leadership Center (그린리더십센터) runs the nominator secretariat.

What did the 2027 Korean call require?

The notice asked for domestic organisations, companies and institutions with an impactful environmental solution. It named startups, SMEs, non-profits, local communities, universities and government bodies. It excluded idea-stage proposals with no proven use or verified effect.

Entries covered five themes: protecting nature, cleaning the air, reviving the oceans, cutting waste and fixing the climate. The call document gave examples, such as a low-cost clean cooking device and an AEM electrolyser that makes green hydrogen.

You submitted by email: an application form, three consent forms, and an optional portfolio or solution brief.

How did the Korean selection work?

The foundation ran a two-step review process before it picked Korean candidates. Earthshot then runs its own assessment, which the foundation says it takes no part in.

The foundation scored entries out of 100: impact 40 points (40%), innovation 30 and scalability 30. Earthshot's own 2026 Summit and Awards Night run in Mumbai on 16 and 17 November 2026.

What does a winner get?

Winners get £1 million each, which the foundation's notice puts at about 1.9 billion won. The notice also lists a one-year mentoring programme, a chance to raise money through a global investor platform, and a place in Earthshot's Global Alliance of partners.

International media exposure is the fourth item on the list. The call flyer says these benefits apply only after Earthshot's own assessment names a team a global finalist or winner. The prize money is extra for the five winners.

Can a foreign-owned company apply?

The notice says "domestic organisations and companies" (국내 단체 및 기업/기관) and does not define the word domestic. It mentions neither nationality nor foreign ownership. We cannot tell you how it treats a foreign-owned company registered in Korea.

Ask the secretariat at the Green Leadership Center, whose phone number and email appear in the notice. If your company does not yet exist in Korea, see how to register a business as a foreigner.

When does the Korean call open?

The foundation's 2027 call, posted on 20 August 2026, is the one Korean round we documented. Its notice describes a call-to-awards cycle of about fifteen months, from August 2026 to November 2027.

Earthshot's page lists no 2028 nomination window.

We confirmed the dates above against the foundation's notice, current as of 16 October 2026. However, only the foundation's notice states the 3 December and November 2027 dates. Watch the programme catalogue for the next call, and read IP support programmes for startups if your solution rests on a patent.