Indian entrepreneur Jinali Mody wins UNEP Young Champions of the Earth Prize

• Indian entrepreneur Jinali Mody was among the three environmental entrepreneurs awarded the 2025 Young Champions of the Earth.

• Jinali Mody, 28, is a biochemistry graduate from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai and the Yale School of Environment. She founded Banofi Leather, a women-led company aiming to make the fast fashion business by producing leather alternatives made from banana crop waste. Compared to conventional leather, Banofi drastically reduces water use, toxic waste, and CO₂ emissions.

• Joseph Nguthiru, 27, a climate-tech engineer from Kenya and Noemi Florea, 24, a climate innovator from the US are the two other winners.

• The Young Champions of the Earth prize is UNEP’s flagship initiative on youth engagement.

• Since 2017, it has recognised 30 young trailblazers — activists, entrepreneurs, and environmental innovators under the age of 30 — for their outstanding ideas to protect the environment.

Each winner receives: 

i) Mentorship, capacity building workshops and access to a UN community of experts. 

ii) Seed-funding.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global authority on the environment. It unites 193 Member States in an effort to find solutions to climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, collectively known as the triple planetary crisis.

• UNEP was founded in 1972. It was conceived to monitor the state of the environment and coordinate responses to the world’s greatest environmental challenges.

• UNEP is part of the UN Secretariat and responds to the UN General Assembly.

• Its headquarters is situated in Nairobi, Kenya.

• UNEP’s primary goal is to catalyse action on the environment and promote solutions to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.

• Through scientific studies, policy support, inter-governmental coordination and public advocacy, UNEP helps humanity to foster climate stability, live in harmony with nature and forge a pollution-free future, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

• In the five decades since its founding, UNEP’s convening power, rigorous scientific research and public advocacy have helped to boldly advance the global environmental agenda. In particular, UNEP has led efforts to counter climate change, protect endangered species, end deforestation, repair the hole in the ozone layer and phase out toxic leaded fuels.