Prince William will meet a winner of the Earthshot Prize after the sustainable packaging company secured a landmark contract with a major British firm.
The royal will meet the team behind Notpla at the Kia Oval Cricket Ground in south London on Friday, Kensington Palace announced.
Notpla, which won Earthshot's Build a Waste-Free World award in 2022, recently signed a contract with catering company Levy UK and Ireland.
Under the deal, Levy will use an expected 75 million items of Notpla’s materials over the next three years across venues in the UK.
Prince William played a pivotal role in supporting the relationship between Notpla and Levy, having spoken to company representatives during a visit to Notpla’s London headquarters last year.
The packaging will be used at the Oval and other major sporting venues across the UK, including Twickenham, London’s O2 Arena and Wimbledon’s All England Lawn Tennis Club.
Earthshot 2022 nominee turns seaweed into plastic replacement - video
During the visit, the prince will hear first-hand how Notpla products will be used at the cricket ground and discuss the importance of sustainable packaging at large-scale events.
He will see the packaging in action during a brief demonstration in the venue’s kitchens.
Notpla produces various types of disposable packaging, which are fully biodegradable and even edible.
To date, its solutions have already replaced 7.2 million pieces of single-use plastic that would otherwise have entered the environment.
This year, it was announced that the Prince of Wales’s 2024 Earthshot Prize awards ceremony would be held in South Africa, raising the prospect of a royal visit to the country.
2022 Earthshot awards ceremony - in pictures
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Prince William and wife Kate attend the second annual Earthshot Prize awards at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, in Boston, Massachusetts. Reuters -
Oscar-winning Egyptian-American actor Rami Malek stops on the green carpet for photographers. Getty Images / AFP -
Onlookers try to catch a glimpse of Prince William and Kate as they make their way into the MGM Music Hall. AP -
Prince William waves to the throngs of American fans in Boston. AP -
Onlookers arrive for the 2022 Earthshot Prize ceremony. AFP -
Kate makes 'going green' look effortless. Reuters -
The Prince and Princess of Wales arrive for the ceremony. AP -
The Prince and Princess of Wales on the green carpet. Getty Images / AFP -
The Boston visit was the couple's first to the US since 2014. Reuters -
The royal couple greets US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. Reuters -
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and his wife Lauren make their way into the ceremony. Reuters -
The Prince and Princess of Wales stand with Hannah Jones, chief executive of the Earthshot Prize. AP -
The couple make their way into MGM Music Hall for the awards ceremony. Reuters -
Actress Shailene Woodley is a presenter at the awards ceremony. Reuters -
Prince William shows a bit of affection for wife Kate. Reuters -
Retired footballer David Beckham arrives at the second annual Earthshot Prize awards. Reuters -
Singer Ellie Goulding attends the second annual Earthshot Prize awards. Reuters -
Woodley arrives for the awards ceremony. Getty Images / AFP -
Mitt Romney, a US senator from Utah, and wife Ann attend the second annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony. EPA -
R&B duo Chloe and Halle Bailey attend the second annual Earthshot Prize awards. Reuters -
Malek at the ceremony. EPA -
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and husband Conor Pewarski arrive for the ceremony. Reuters -
Actor Daniel Dae Kim and wife Mia pose for photos. Reuters -
Presenter and broadcaster Clara Amfo strikes a pose on the green carpet. Reuters -
Prince William and Kate's visit to the US concludes after the ceremony. AFP -
Beckham speaks to Ms Jones. AP -
Chloe and Halle Bailey are from Mableton, Georgia. PA
Singapore staged the most recent awards ceremony last November, after prize-giving events were held in Boston in 2022 and London’s Alexandra Palace in 2021.
Prince William founded the prize to recognise and scale up ideas to help repair the planet, with the five winning finalists each awarded £1 million to develop their ideas.
Awards are presented in five categories, or Earthshots: protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.
Earthshot organisers have received almost 2,500 nominations with almost 400 of those based in Africa, a continent with the lowest carbon-dioxide emissions but one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
