Award
Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge
Together with Elsevier’s Chemistry journals, the Elsevier Foundation provides funding of 25,000 USD for 2 winning projects per year, implementing green & sustainable chemistry solutions in the Global South – advancing climate action and gender equity.
The Challenge supports individuals and organizations advancing green and sustainable chemistry solutions to address some of the Global South’s most pressing sustainability challenges.
The 2026 call for applications is now closed.
The winners has been announced.
2026 winners
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Thilini D K Mudiyanselage
Professor, Department of Polymer Science, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Thilini D K Mudiyanselage
Professor, Department of Polymer Science, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Dr. Thilini Mudiyanselage is a Professor in the Department of Polymer Science at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, and a polymer chemist by training and practice. She earned an Honors degree in Chemistry, which laid a strong foundation in molecular science and led her to pursue a PhD, where she was introduced to the world of polymers and their potential to address pressing sustainability and climate challenges. Her research focuses on bio-based polymers, waste-derived materials, and functional hydrogels for water treatment, agriculture, and nutrient-use efficiency.
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Milemo Lusambya
Let’s Be Transformed (MAGUFINA), Dzaleka Refugee Camp, Malawi
Malawi
Milemo Lusambya leads Let’s Be Transformed (MAGUFINA), established in 2017 serving Dzaleka Refugee Camp’s 56,000 residents. MAGUFINA implemented agriculture programs training 120 women, increasing food security by 30% and establishing four gardens producing 2,400kg vegetables annually. We achieved 85% program completion rates compared to 45% camp average through participatory design. MAGUFINA partners with UNHCR Malawi for policy support, Ministry of Natural Resources for compliance, and Malawi University of Science and Technology for technical validation.
About the Challenge
The Challenge supports individuals and organizations advancing green and sustainable chemistry solutions to address some of the Global South’s most pressing sustainability challenges.
It focuses on scaling early-stage projects where the prize represents most of the required funding. Eligible initiatives must be implemented in low- and middle-income countries and include a strong scientific green and sustainable chemistry component, with local implementation partners.
- Examples of in-scope solutions include: Waste utilization; Alternative energy sources; Biodiversity and ecosystem health; Climate change mitigation; Community empowerment; Sustainable agriculture; Water resource management and; Health and well-being.
- Projects implemented outside LMICs, those without a gender component, projects primarily funding equipment or personnel, and initiatives lacking a strong sustainable chemistry foundation are out of scope.
Before submitting, applicants must carefully review the full description of the Challenge and the criteria.
Prizes, Timeline & Key Information
Two prizes of USD $25,000 each will be awarded to projects demonstrating impactful green and sustainable chemistry solutions for sustainability challenges in the Global South.
Challenge Timeline
- Submission phase: July 7 – October 1, 2025
- Shortlist announcement: October 30, 2025
- Top 5 finalists announced: January 15, 2026
- Final presentations & winners announced: May 20, 2026, at the 10th Elsevier Green & Sustainable Chemistry Conference (18-20 May, 2026)
The Top 5 finalists will present their projects at the conference, where the two winners will be selected and announced.
Additional Information
Due to the high number of applications, individual feedback cannot be provided.
Certificates for shortlisted proposals are available upon request.
For questions or certificate requests, please contact: chemistry.challenge@elsevier.com
Meet the scientific jury
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Klaus Kümmerer
Professor of Sustainable Chemistry and Material Resources, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Germany
Klaus Kümmerer
Professor of Sustainable Chemistry and Material Resources, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Germany
Prof. Dr. Klaus Kümmerer is Professor of Sustainable Chemistry and Material Resources at the Leuphana University Lüneburg and director of the Research and Education Hub of the International Collaborative Center for Sustainable Chemistry (ISC3). His interest is in designing benign chemicals to address the quest of micro pollutants in the aquatic environment, usage and protection of material resources, environmental chemistry and water chemistry, ecology of time, and the development of interdisciplinary study courses and programs of sustainable chemistry. He is also founding editor and editor-in-chief of the scientific journals “Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy“ and „Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry“.
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Borhane Mahjoub
Senior Researcher and Lecturer, National Institute of Research and Physico-Chemical Analysis, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
Borhane Mahjoub
Senior Researcher and Lecturer, National Institute of Research and Physico-Chemical Analysis, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
Dr. Borhane Mahjoub is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer in Environmental Chemistry at the National Institute of Research and Physical-Chemical Analysis (INRAP) in Tunisia. He has an extensive background in Environmental Chemistry, specializing in Quality Monitoring, the Contaminants behavior in Soils, Water Quality and Treatment Processes, and Solid Waste Valorization. His work emphasizes and aligns with Green and Sustainable Chemistry concepts and SDGs approaches.
Dr. Mahjoub has led numerous national and international research projects. His contributions extend to over 20 countries on four continents, where he has developed collaborative research and academic networks. He is also an Editor of several sections of the journal Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry (Elsevier), and Associate Editor of Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy (Elsevier). In addition, Dr. Mahjoub is the Program Committee National Delegate and the National Contact Point for the Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programs. He is the Expert Advisor in Climate and Environmental Policy for the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. -
Raju Kumar Gupta
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
Raju Kumar Gupta
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
India
Prof. Raju Kumar Gupta is currently a Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India. His current research interests are photocatalysis for water remediation and CO2 capture & conversion to fuels, desalination, perovskite solar cells and energy storage devices based on batteries. Prof. Gupta has been recipient of several fellowships and awards, including DST Inspire Faculty Award, Distinguished Young Alumnus Awards, PK Kelkar Young Faculty Fellowship and Fellowship of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Prof. Gupta is an Editorial Board member of several international journals, including ‘Sustainable Chemistry One World’, ‘Solar Energy’, ‘Scientific Reports’, ‘Journal of Polymer Science’ and ‘Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry’.
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Ramia Al Bakain
Professor of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, The University of Jordan, Jordan
Ramia Al Bakain
Professor of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, The University of Jordan, Jordan
Jordan
Ramia Al Bakain holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Sorbonne Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris, France. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Jordan, Amman.
Her research focuses on the application of analytical chemistry to develop innovative methods in water, agriculture, and food security. She also works on green techniques for wastewater treatment and sustainable approaches to preserving natural resources. Ramia maintains extensive international research collaborations with institutions in the USA, France, Italy, Austria, Lebanon, Germany, Slovakia, and the UK.
She leads numerous international scientific projects and supervises interdisciplinary teams of graduate students working on water-food-agriculture security challenges in the MENA region. In addition, she is a member in the editorial board of Journal Sustainable Chemistry One World- Elsevier and Science & Technology Nexus Journal.
Ramia has received several prestigious international honors and awards, including: Elsevier Foundation-ISC3 Green & Sustainable Chemistry Award, L’Ordre national du Mérite – President of the French Republic, the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science and the MIT-Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation Award.
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Sam Adu-Kumi
Environmental Protection Agency, Accra, Ghana
Ghana
Dr. Sam Adu-Kumi has diverse research interests in environmental fate, human exposure, and health risk assessment of POPs and heavy metals in Ghana. His work focuses on monitoring, sampling, analysis, and risk characterization of human health risks.
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Vania Zuin Zeidler
Full Professor, Leuphana University of Lüneburg Institute for Sustainable and Environmental Chemistry, Germany
Vania Zuin Zeidler
Full Professor, Leuphana University of Lüneburg Institute for Sustainable and Environmental Chemistry, Germany
Dr. Dr. Zuin Zeidler is a professor on Sustainable Chemistry of Renewable Organic Resources at the Institute of Sustainable Chemistry (INSC), Leuphana University Lüneburg (Germany). Her background is Green and Sustainable Analytical Chemistry and Green and Sustainable Chemistry Education, with major interests in developing analytical methods that are incipient to determine renewable high-value substances extracted from agro-industrial residues, focusing on sustainable separation science. She was also the Founding Director of the Field & Food Tech Hub – UFSCar, a multi-sector platform that promotes healthy and ethical living through green and sustainable products and processes at Federal University of São Carlos, São Paulo State, Brazil.
Prof. Zuin Zeidler has established a well-structured network between industries, governmental and non-governmental sectors to improve research and application of Green and Sustainable Chemistry knowledge globally (e.g., IUPAC, ISC3, UN including UNESCO, UNIDO, UNEP) . She is author of many publications of high impact in the areas of her expertise (as Science, Cell, Nature Reviews Materials, Nature Reviews Chemistry), and has been invited to give several lectures in the academic and industrial sectors. As a participant of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation research network started in 2005, she was elected president of the Club Humboldt in Brazil in 2015, being its permanent honorary counselor. Recent distinctions include the 52o and 57o Brazilian Literary Jabuti Awards, the title of Honorary Visiting Fellow at the University of York (UK), the IUPAC 2014 CHEMRAWN VII Prize for Atmospheric and Green Chemistry, the title of Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) in 2015, the ACS-CEI Award for Incorporating Sustainability into Chemistry Education, sponsored by the ACS in 2017 and Fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at Leuphana (2020 and 2021). She is also a visiting professor at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence (University of York, UK). Having vast international experience, Prof. Zuin Zeidler works hard to advance diversity and inclusion in Science, also in emerging economies and regions under economic and political constraints.
