Honing Youth Leaders for a Sustainable Future
Overview
Those who will live with tomorrow’s reality must be trusted with today’s solutions.
Empowering young people with strong leadership skills and creative solutions, the Youth for Earth (Y4E) campaign of the International Conference on Sustainability Education (ICSE), initiated by the Mobius Foundation in collaboration with The Climate Reality Project in 2020, has been an annual undertaking that attracts solution-oriented youth-led projects.
The campaign implores young people to think of more sustainable, equitable, and resilient ways of living. It is an annual initiative that empowers young leaders to develop and implement innovative, sustainable solutions through mentorship, guidance, and project-based climate action.
Over the years, themes have included: Greening Education for a Sustainable Future and SDG 13: Climate Action.
Impact in Numbers
Young People Engaged
Projects/Ideas Received
Prizes Awarded
How We Do It
Behavioral Change
Empower youth as “changemakers for the future,” catalyzing a paradigm shift towards sustainability.
Institutional Impact
Cultivate a sustainable ethos within participants’ institutions, extending beyond campuses to community outreach.
Mentorship
Establish mentor–mentee relationships, leveraging teachers to guide participants toward innovative climate solutions.
Guidance
Provide direction to students on climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, steering them towards impactful actions.
Knowledge Exchange
Facilitate interaction among participants, fostering mutual learning and collective action on climate change challenges.
Youth for Earth 2025 Winners
The Youth for Earth 2025 initiative celebrated outstanding youth-led innovations addressing sustainability challenges across India. Winning projects showcased diverse solutions—from dignified waste management to eco-friendly bricks, clean energy innovations, sustainable urban design, and plastic upcycling. Collectively, these projects demonstrated real-world implementation, community engagement, and measurable social and environmental impact.
With support from mentors and institutions, the winners exemplify how youth leadership can drive green entrepreneurship and circular economy models, advancing India’s sustainability goals and creating pathways to green jobs.
Senior Category
1st Position: EcoCompost – Dr. Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Pune
EcoCompost introduces an IoT-driven waste segregation system aimed at improving the management of daily waste. Such technology-based solutions play an important role in promoting efficiency and reducing the volume of waste that ends up in landfills. The project also demonstrates how campuses can serve as models for adopting smart, sustainable practices.
2nd Position: CDP Bricks – K. Ramakrishnan College of Technology, Trichy
CDP Bricks focuses on converting plastic and demolition waste into durable, low-cost eco-bricks. The approach highlights how everyday waste streams can become valuable resources when creatively repurposed. The project also reinforces the importance of sustainable construction materials in addressing environmental challenges and reducing landfill pressure.
3rd Position: Project Sammaan – Anant National University, Ahmedabad
Project Sammaan provides marginalized communities with access to affordable pre-loved goods in a dignified and respectful manner. The initiative reinforces the idea that reuse can be empowering when framed through choice and accessibility rather than charity. By encouraging people to adopt conscious consumption habits, it supports a more sustainable circular economy and helps reduce unnecessary waste.
Junior Category
1st Position: Project Peelflex – Bal Bhavan Public School, New Delhi
Project Peelflex converts banana peel waste into biodegradable fiber sheets through a natural and low-cost process. This highlights how organic waste can be transformed into useful alternatives to plastic-based products. The project also promotes sustainable thinking by showing how everyday materials can contribute to reducing landfill waste and pollution.
2nd Position: Project Ashitizer – Bharat Mata English Medium Senior Secondary School, Chhattisgarh
Project Ashitizer focuses on turning wood ash into a biodegradable, low-cost sanitizer. This approach demonstrates how simple, locally available materials can be repurposed to address hygiene needs. It also encourages communities to think about waste as a resource and to adopt sustainable practices in daily life.
3rd Position: EcoTree 2.0 – Kikani Vidya Mandir, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
EcoTree 2.0 introduces a mechanical tree concept designed to help address urban air pollution. By using biodegradable collectors and algae-based systems, it presents an eco-conscious approach to improving air quality. The project also highlights the importance of combining environmental science with creativity to find scalable solutions to city pollution.
4th Position: Project Stepergy: Power from Every Step – Adarsh Public School, Vikaspuri, New Delhi
Project Stepergy uses piezoelectric tiles to generate clean energy from footsteps in public spaces. This demonstrates how everyday human activity can be leveraged for small-scale renewable energy generation. The project also sparks curiosity about innovative energy solutions and motivates young people to think creatively about sustainability.
5th Position: Nature’s Weapon Youth’s Mission – Little Flowers Public Senior Secondary School, Shahdara, New Delhi
This project draws inspiration from traditional neem-based knowledge to create natural, sustainable products. By shifting attention toward eco-friendly alternatives, it encourages reduced dependence on chemical-based solutions. The initiative also helps raise awareness about the value of traditional wisdom in addressing modern environmental issues.