Answer: Jinali Mody
Notes: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced the 2025 Young Champions of the Earth award recognising innovators from India, Kenya , and the United States. The award is UNEP’s flagship youth engagement initiative for entrepreneurs under 30. The Young Champions program, founded by UNEP in 2017, was relaunched in 2025 with Mr. Kemper as UNEP’s Advocate for Partnerships. Jinali Mody (India) won the 2025 UNEP Young Champions of the Earth award for founding Banofi Leather, producing eco-friendly leather from banana crop waste, reducing water use, chemical pollution, and carbon emissions. Joseph Nguthiru (Kenya) won for HyaPak, converting invasive water hyacinth into biodegradable packaging and seedling wrappers, reducing single-use plastics. Noemi Florea (United States) won for Cycleau, developing a compact greywater reuse system that turns household wastewater into drinking water with low energy consumption.
