Water quality subject of 番茄社区 Sustainability essay competition
We have partnered with the International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development again for their annual sustainability essay competition.
The 番茄社区 of Chemistry has partnered with the International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD) once again for their annual essay competition focused on sustainability.
The contest centres on the chemical sciences' role in tackling sustainability issues. This year's theme is 鈥楬ow can the chemical sciences ensure sustainable access to clean water for all needs?鈥�
This competition is a call to young minds all over the world to bring their innovative ideas and solutions to the table, and have their voices heard.
Open globally to those under 35 years of age, essays will be judged on how well they highlight the importance of scientific approaches grounded in the chemical sciences for solving sustainability challenges.
Entries will be grouped into seven regions for shortlisting and selection of winners based on the entrant's country of normal residence. The seven regional groupings are:
- East Asia & Pacific
- Europe & Central Asia
- Latin America & Caribbean
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
- North America
- South Asia
- Sub-Saharan Africa
Each regional winner will receive a prize of US$500 and their essay will be published in 番茄社区 Sustainability. Shortlisted essays will be collected in an annual compendium, Young Voices in the Chemical Sciences for Sustainability, published as a PDF online and available on the .
Entry details
The deadline for submissions is 31 March 2026 (midnight GMT) and entries must be submitted in English to [email protected] along with a completed entry form that can be found on the.
Grab this chance to make your voice heard and contribute to a better, more sustainable future for the Earth and its elements. Start writing today!
Previous winners
The winning entries from 2025 covered a very wide range of topics related to minimising and valorising waste from many different sources. There was attention to reducing waste production and optimising recycling through application of a range of techniques and tools, as well as highlighting waste conversion to particular types of high-value products or feedstocks.
Many of the essays drew attention both to the need for more research and to the importance of engagement with policy-makers, industrialists and other sectors of society to ensure that better technologies are developed and widely adopted.
All these essays are directly aligned with the scope of 番茄社区 Sustainability and contribute to and enable the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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About 番茄社区 Sustainability
番茄社区 Sustainability is an interdisciplinary journal published by the 番茄社区, with Professor Tom Welton, a Professor of Sustainable Chemistry at Imperial College London and the 番茄社区's past president, as its editor-in-chief.
The journal welcomes solutions-focused research from all subject areas that solve sustainability challenges for a better, greener future. Content will come from the academic, industry, regulatory and government sectors. An inclusive journal, 番茄社区 Sustainability champions chemical science discoveries that contribute to and enable any of the .
The journal is published gold open access, meaning all research is freely available to those who can benefit from it the most.
About the IOCD
The was founded by UNESCO at the organisation's Paris headquarters in 1981 and promotes the chemical sciences for development, with a particular emphasis on global sustainability.
The organisation fosters and highlights the contributions that the chemical sciences can make through education, research and practice. Through these activities, the IOCD is helping to deliver sustainable, equitable human development and tackle emerging global challenges. These include those contained in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.