Ms Supriya Sahu is UN Champions of the Earth Winner 2025 in the category of Inspiration and action. Champions of the Earth Award - an overview The Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour, recognizes outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. Every year, since 2005, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) honours individuals and organizations working on innovative and sustainable solutions. Award categories Champions of the Earth are celebrated in four categories: Policy leadership - Individuals influencing or advancing global, regional or national action through policy interventions to improve environmental outcomes. They shape the dialogue, drive commitments, and act for the good of the planet. Inspiration and action - Leaders taking bold steps to inspire positive change to protect our world. They lead by example, challenge behavior and inspire millions. Entrepreneurial vision - Visionaries challenging the status quo to build a cleaner future. They build systems, create new technology and spearhead a groundbreaking vision. Science and innovation -Trailblazers pushing the boundaries of technology for profound environmental benefit. They invent possibilities for a more sustainable world. Indian winner 2025 - Ms Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Tamil Nadu Award Category: Inspiration and action Ms Supriya Sahu has served as Additional Chief Secretary in the Department of Environment, Climate Change, and Forest for the past four and a half years. During this time, she has positioned Tamil Nadu as a global leader in climate mitigation, adaptation and heat resilience. Her initiatives have showcased how integrated governance and nature-based solutions, along with a mix of low- and high-tech interventions, can protect vulnerable communities, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Throughout her 30-year career as a public servant, Sahu has developed a growing fascination with India's rich biodiversity. In 2000, she launched a campaign called "Operation Blue Mountain" aimed at eliminating single-use plastic in Nilgiris. The issue of plastic pollution was still under the radar at the time. In recent years, Sahu has introduced the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company, a not-for-profit focused on coastal resilience, and a variety of projects to tackle urban heat and rising cooling demand. Thanks to their scale, ambition and coordinated work across various government sectors – backed by Sahu’s energy and leadership – these programs are making a difference in the lives of some of the most disadvantaged families. Cool Roof Project is one of the passive cooling initiatives led by Sahu, being implemented in 200 public "green schools." The solution, as cheap and straightforward as painting the roofs white to reflect sunlight, brings the temperature inside the classroom down dramatically. In combination with shading, natural ventilation and nature temperatures can reduce by 5 to 8°C. Along with roof painting, "green schools" have been implementing solar power, energy efficient fans, shading, harvesting rainwater and planting vegetable gardens. She has led efforts to plant over 100 million trees and establish 65 new reserve forests in Tamil Nadu, and under her leadership, the state has doubled its mangrove cover, expanded its wetlands from 1 to 20, and launched the US$60 million Endangered Species Conservation Fund. In Chennai, the state’s capital, she is applying this nature-first approach to urban planning by integrating heat resilience into new developments, mitigating intense hotspots primarily through the protection and expansion of green spaces, complemented by better urban and building design and innovations like district cooling. Factored together, Sahu's sweep of initiatives have created 2.5 million green jobs and significantly contributed to India's national target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. Source : UNEP