Joseph Nguthiru goes about his work / UNEP
When Joseph Nguthiru looks at Lake Naivasha, he doesn’t just see the water hyacinth choking its ecosystem, he sees possibility.
At only 27, the climate-tech engineer has turned one of Kenya’s
biggest environmental headaches into a green business model, converting the
invasive weed into biodegradable packaging bags and seedling wrappers through
his company, HyaPak.
This bold innovation has earned
Nguthiru global recognition as one of the 2025 Young Champions of the Earth,
the United Nations Environment Programme’s flagship award for young
environmental trailblazers.
Nguthiru’s mission is simple but transformative: replace single-use plastics, restore agricultural lands and cut carbon emissions, all while creating sustainable livelihoods.
“HyaPak makes
agricultural lands healthier and offsets CO₂ emissions,” Unep said, hailing his
circular economy approach.
Nguthiru joins two other global winners: India’s Jinali Mody, who makes vegan leather from banana waste, and America’s Noemi Florea, whose company Cycleau retrofits homes to turn wastewater into drinking water.
The three were selected from more than 5,000 applicants
worldwide.
The award, relaunched this year in
partnership with US climate philanthropist Chris Kemper, comes with $20,000
in seed funding, mentorship, and a global platform. The winners will also
compete in Planet A’s inaugural pitch competition for a $100,000 growth grant
and a potential $1 million seed investment, in a series filmed for Planet A’s
YouTube channel this October.
Unep executive director Inger Andersen praised the winners as proof that young people are leading innovation in the fight against climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
“The
lives of our children and our children’s children are already being
dramatically impacted by the triple planetary crisis,” she said.
"I commend these inspiring Young Champions of the Earth for their innovations."
For Nguthiru, whose journey began in engineering classrooms and on the shores of Lake Naivasha, the recognition cements him as one of Africa’s most promising green entrepreneurs.
His
idea, born from a problem that many saw as hopeless, has now placed him on a
global stage, symbolising the power of African ingenuity to tackle planetary
crises.
Since its inception in 2017, the Young Champions programme has honoured 30 innovators under 30, but Nguthiru’s story stands out as one where local struggle meets global hope.
From Kenya’s lakeside weeds to the world’s climate-tech future, his rise is proof that solutions can grow where challenges seem most overwhelming.
