William is ‘the biggest cheerleader for the planet’ – Earthshot Prize finalist

The Prince of Wales is “probably the biggest cheerleader for the planet”, an Earthshot Prize finalist has said.

William is “following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather” to repair the planet, Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, founder and chief executive of UK-based ENSO, said ahead of the Earthshot Prize ceremony in Singapore on Tuesday.

A Kensington Palace spokesperson said the prince was on his way and was “extremely looking forward to being back in Singapore after 11 years” for the awards, aimed at recognising solutions to “repair” the planet.

The awards will see five category winners presented with £1 million each to scale up their environmental ideas.

It has now been announced Emmy Award winning actor and producer Sterling K Brown will join Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham to co-host the awards, Bebe Rexha will perform, award-winning director and producer Donnie Yen will announce one of the five winners and Earthshot Prize Council member Sir David Attenborough will make a video appearance during the broadcast.

On Sunday evening, William is set to be welcomed to Singapore at Changi Airport and will turn on the world’s largest indoor waterfall, the HSBC Rain Vortex, which will light up green.

The finalists spoke to the media at a briefing on Sunday morning before leaving for a session on leadership with former prime minister of New Zealand and Earthshot trustee, Dame Jacinda Ardern.

Mr Erlendsson, whose company creates tyres designed for electric vehicles that are more sustainable and reduce tyre pollution, said the prince’s commitment to repairing the planet “means everything”.

He said: “He is probably the biggest cheerleader for the planet at this stage. So, having him supporting not only by raising awareness of tyre pollution for ENSO, but also supporting our solution to tackle it has been phenomenal.

“There is no other person I think that could have given us as much support.”

He added: “To leverage not only Prince William’s connections, but also his very core mission to repair our planet, all ties in wonderfully together and I think that there is probably nobody else who could have done it because you need someone who can stand up above the daily fray, to really bring people together like he’s done and to be honest, he’s simply following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in this respect.”

Mr Erlendsson said the “honour is really to be nominated” and that the £1 million would be a “nice extra bonus, but everyone gets the same exposure”.

He said that ENSO being nominated has meant the “most famous person in the world” is now talking about tyre pollution.

William visited ENSO during a trip to Sustainable Ventures, a working space which helps fund and support green firms, in October, and Mr Erlendsson said as well as discussing ENSO the prince “wanted feedback and input on the Earthshot process and ways for them to improve”.

Mr Erlendsson has been in the Earthshot Prize’s fellowship retreat with the other finalists meeting companies which have helped them to craft their “messaging and missions”.

He said the experience has been “absolutely an amazing journey”.

There is no other person I think that could have given us as much support

Orr Yarkoni, chief executive of Colorifix, which has headquarters in Norwich, said being a finalist was a “huge honour” and the fellowship retreat has been “quite intense but very rewarding”.

Colorifix uses DNA sequencing and nature’s own colours to create sustainable dyes that reduce the fashion industry’s use of water and harmful chemicals.

Mr Yarkoni said he “echoes the prince’s sentiment of hope” for fixing the planet.

In the dyeing sector colours are made illegal every year due to their impact on the environment, Mr Yarkoni said.

He added the company, which has already worked with brands such as H&M, was approached by a “big luxury brand” in 2019 for help as the red they use was being made illegal and the brand’s solution was to “stop making red things”.

During his four-day trip to Singapore, the prince will take part in Earthshot Week, a series of events bringing together businesses and investors with past winners and current finalists to accelerate their solutions.

William will also take part in dragon boating, meet Singaporeans to learn how they are working locally to protect the planet, and attend a United for Wildlife summit, aimed at tackling the illegal trade in animal parts.