Frontiers Planet Prize

Eligibility

For this prize, three International Champions will be selected from the pool of National Champions (for Canada the RSC may submit 3 names). Each International Champion wins 1 million Swiss Francs to advance their important breakthrough research. Details about the selection process here.

Criteria: 

The Frontiers Planet Prize will be awarded to the best research published in established peer-reviewed scientific journals, with robust peer review and transparent publication procedures. The NRC is looking for papers to nominate.

The acceptance date of the article must fall within the 2 years prior to the launch of the competition (date of acceptance: 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2025).  Scientific excellence is the default principle to participate in the Frontiers Planet Prize.

• The research outlines actionable solutions or pathways that can be implemented in policies, adapted commercially, or otherwise contribute to keep global development within planetary boundaries.
• The research advances the scientific understanding and quantification of planetary boundaries. It explores how planetary boundaries are affected or impact life support systems / the Earth system or investigates the implications of adopting planetary boundaries thinking across disciplines, sectors and activities/applications.
• The research must connect to several planetary boundaries at the Earth system scale. Research that explores interactions / relations between multiple planetary boundaries will be prioritized.
• The prize welcomes breakthrough research across all disciplines, on condition it is focused on planetary boundaries and presents original research findings or insightful reviews and syntheses that help to reduce the destabilization of the Earth system.

Summary

The Frontiers Planet Prize celebrates breakthroughs in sustainability science, rewarding solutions that show measurable potential to help humanity remain within the boundaries of the Earth’s ecosystem. 

The process requires that National Nominating Bodies (universities or research institutions) submit their nominations to the National Representative Body, which for Canada is the Royal Society of Canada.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

UCalgary scientists who wish to participate in the prize can do so through the following process as the Univeristy of Calgary is a National Nominating Body (NNB).

UCalgary must submit their top 3 nominations to the National Representative Body, which for Canada is the Royal Society of Canada (RSC).

If you have a paper to nominate for this award, please submit a Notice of Intent to Research Services by Monday, August 26, 2025 by emailing researchawards@ucalgary.ca. Please note that simply the name of the lead scientist* (see note below) and a copy of their paper is sufficient at this stage. 

*The lead scientist is the individual who best represents the team behind the published article, regardless of their hierarchical position. When putting forward your nominations, we encourage NNBs to actively consider all perspectives that reflect the diverse contributions of nominees, and address any unintended bias in the proposed candidates.

The 3 candidates that will be selected will then be contacted by Research Services to complete the short standard application form, and Research Services will facilitate the submission to the RSC. 

The deadline for submissions to the RSC is November 1.

View the full timeline here.