The Ashden Awards

Our VIP reception

Join Ashden this June, as a VIP guest at our unique celebration of climate action. An evening lighting the path to stronger economies and a fairer future, with insights and networking for funders, investors and policymakers. Featuring the inspiring stories of proven solutions, and the organisations and communities behind them.

We are delighted to reveal that our speakers will be Rachel Kyte, UK Climate Envoy and Wanjira Mathai, MD for Africa and Global Partnerships at World Resources Institute.

As a VIP guest, you’ll join an exclusive pre-ceremony reception with our speakers, award winners and influential guests from the worlds of climate finance and policy. Your chance to make new connections in a relaxed atmosphere before the ceremony begins.

For 25 years, the Ashden Awards have supported outstanding, inclusive climate innovation – whether that work brings clean power to Africa’s villages, restores nature, or tackles fuel poverty in the UK. In our anniversary year, we’ll explore how past winners have gone on to further success, and the lessons this brings for scaling up climate action everywhere. We’ll also look to the future with new awards for up-and-coming innovators.

This year’s ceremony is an invitation-only event, for an audience with the power to shape a fair and inclusive zero carbon future. So as well as uplifting stories of impact and progress, expect insights to help address the finance and policy challenges that lie ahead.

Our Speakers

Rachel Kyte, UK Climate Envoy

Rachel Kyte was appointed UK Special Representative for Climate on 21 October 2024.

She is Professor of Practice in Climate Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and dean emerita of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Rachel was previously Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All.

She has also served as World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, as well as Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, and for Business Advisory Services at the International Finance Corporation.

Rachel has held non-executive director, trustee and board member roles with a number of private and public financial institutions, as well as non-profit organisations, focused on climate and development.

Wanjira Mathai, MD for Africa and Global Partnerships at World Resources Institute.

Wanjira Mathai is a formidable force in climate, development & environmental advocacy. She spearheads transformative initiatives that promote sustainable economic development. With over two decades of strategic leadership, she has inspired environmental and social change across Africa, particularly among the youth.

As Managing Director for Africa and Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Africa adviser to the Bezos Earth Fund (BEF), she is shaping NGO and philanthropic work on the continent, directing attention, research, and funding to helping the most climate-vulnerable places and local communities. She has led the iconic Green Belt Movement (GBM) in Kenya as the former Chair- the organization her mother, Wangari Maathai (2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) founded in 1977-, pioneered investment in women entrepreneurs in renewable energy, and is driving a movement to restore 100 million hectares of African land. She has raised the prominence and visibility of global issues such as climate change, youth leadership, sustainable energy and landscape restoration.

Wanjira currently serves as Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation (WMF), as a Leadership Council member of the Clean Cooking Alliance. She is a member of the High-Level Group of the Africa-Europe Foundation and the European Climate Foundation Advisory Council. Wanjira is one of a few Six Seconds EQ Practitioners in Kenya and was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential African Women in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2023.

Sponsor the 2025 Ashden Awards

The impact of the Ashden Awards relies on partnerships with committed, mission aligned funders. Partners who believe in inclusive solutions for a fairer world, and who want to connect with climate innovators and forge new partnerships as part of Ashden’s global network.

The 2025 Ashden Awards will take place next summer, marking 25 years of boosting climate innovation. In that time we’ve welcomed guest speakers from Al Gore to Sir David Attenborough – and helped hundreds of organisations achieve even greater impact.

By sponsoring the 2025 awards, you can link your organisation with some of the world’s most exciting climate innovations. Our awards are closely aligned with common ESG goals, and supporting them will raise your profile with influential audiences in the climate sector and beyond.

Our winners are driven by ambition for a greener, fairer future. If you share their passion, we’d love to tell you more about the Ashden Awards.

For more information please get in touch with Ed Dean, Director of Business Development – [email protected]