Deadline: 12-Jun-25
Nominations are now open for the Innovate 4 Nature Award to identify and accelerate nature-positive solutions in collaboration with partners to contribute to the restoration and regeneration of nature by 2030.
Its purpose is to recognise and spotlight high-quality solutions, promote a vibrant ecosystem and inspire transformative thinking towards a regenerative economy.
Focus Areas
- Innovate 4 Nature accelerates nature-positive solutions across four focus areas, which are related to the most significant socio-economic systems in view of biodiversity loss. They define each area as follows:
- Sustainable Management of Ecosystems
- This area focuses on the restoration, monitoring, and protection of ecosystems through nature-positive finance, technology, and governance. It includes biodiversity and carbon credit solutions, digital MRV tools, and data platforms that track ecological health and impact. Innovations also support conservation financing, risk assessment, and community-led stewardship. By making ecosystem services visible, investable, and accountable, these solutions enable long-term regeneration of forests, oceans, and landscapes—grounded in evidence, inclusion, and equity.
- Nature as Infrastructure and Planet-Compatible Cities
- This area redefines how they build, live, and move through space by integrating nature into infrastructure and urban design. Solutions include green construction materials, ecological sanitation, urban greening, water-saving innovations, and nature-based tourism. They make cities more resilient, livable, and biodiverse while restoring ecological functions within built environments. The area also includes nature-integrated planning and design tools that support climate adaptation and community well-being. By aligning infrastructure with ecological processes, these solutions help human settlements thrive within planetary boundaries.
- Regenerative Food Systems
- Productive and regenerative agriculture solutions improve food systems while restoring ecosystems and enhancing rural livelihoods. This includes nature-positive farming practices, bio-based fertilizers, alternative proteins, smart agtech, and transparent ingredient supply chains. By prioritizing soil health, biodiversity, and long-term productivity, these innovations decouple food production from land degradation. The area also features community-driven approaches and tools that increase resilience, reduce emissions, and strengthen ecosystem services—especially through collaboration with indigenous and smallholder farmers.
- Circular Nature-Positive Solutions
- Circular nature-positive solutions redesign the flow of materials, energy, and behaviour to minimize waste and regenerate natural systems. This group includes nature-based materials, sustainable consumer goods, material innovations, and behaviour-change tools that shift consumption patterns. It promotes circular economy models—such as upcycling, eco-design, and resource efficiency—alongside digital platforms, educational tools, and cultural interventions that embed nature-positive thinking into daily life. These solutions reduce pressure on ecosystems by extending product lifecycles, closing resource loops, and empowering individuals and businesses to participate in systemic change for sustainability.
- Sustainable Management of Ecosystems
Prize Information
- The I4N Award offers both financial and non-financial benefits worth CHF 150,000 in total, with the aim to accelerate nature-positive solutions:
- Four cash prizes of CHF 25,000 each across four focus areas and a special grant of CHF 15,000
- Access to the I4N ecosystem, including corporates, investors and experts
- Tailored training and mentorship opportunities
- Increased visibility through I4N channels and exclusive events
Eligibility Criteria
- The application criteria are as follows:
- Business Model: your solution needs to have a source of income that is not fully relying on donations.
- Scalability or Replicability: your solution needs to be scalable or repicable. If your solution is highly relying on one particular location, please do not apply.
- Maturity: your solution is ideally around pre-seed or seed stage. The minimum requirement is the existence of a business model, a business plan, a marketable pilot product, or a minimum viable product (MVP). Please do not apply if your annual revenues exceed USD 1 million.
- Form: there are no specific requirements regarding legal form, ownership structure or age of entity. Please do not apply if your solution is considered ‘a project’.
- Geographies: global; organisations active in or from countries at high risk of money laundering are excluded.
- Applicants: they only accept applications directly from founders and not from fundraisers. Previous I4N-Award Winners are excluded. Previous I4N Award Finalists can reapply after 2 years, unless they have a new project.
- Availability: should you be selected, at least one founder or executive director must be available either in person or via video call on the Pitch Day: Tuesday, 21st October 2025, in Switzerland
- Language: Only applications in English are accepted.
- Cost: participation is free of charge.
For more information, visit I4N.