Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri (“Patchy” to many colleagues and friends) was a visionary environmental leader who dedicated his life to advancing global understanding of climate change and sustainable development. As Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, he helped bring climate science to the center of global dialogue. Under his leadership, the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its efforts to build and share knowledge about climate change and its solutions. But beyond his achievements, Dr. Pachauri’s greatest contribution was his unwavering belief that humanity has both the power and responsibility to protect the planet. Guided by the philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” — the world is one family, he inspired scientists, policymakers, and young changemakers to work together for a sustainable future. His vision continues to inspire climate action across the globe. His legacy lives on in every effort to protect our planet.
Dr. John “Mac” McQuown was an innovator, entrepreneur, and environmental advocate whose work combined bold thinking with practical solutions. A pioneer in modern finance and co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, he built a remarkable career transforming ideas into impactful institutions. Yet his passion extended far beyond finance. He believed deeply in the power of innovation to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges—including climate change. Through initiatives such as the sustainable microgrid at Stone Edge Farm in California, he demonstrated how renewable energy and technology can create resilient and sustainable communities. Dr. McQuown was also a strong supporter of the POP Movement. His vision lives on through POP’s initiatives that encourage youth to develop bold climate solutions and turn ideas into action. His spirit of curiosity , innovation, and passion continues to inspire the next generation of climate leaders.
Awards
Every year, on August 20, the birth anniversary of Dr. R.K. Pachauri, the POP Movement honors exceptional youth leaders, innovators, and changemakers whose work is advancing sustainability, climate action, and community impact. These awards celebrate inspiring individuals and teams who are creating meaningful change for people and the planet.
- R.K. Pachauri Award for Youth-Led Climate Action: Recognizes outstanding youth-led initiatives that are driving climate action through community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and sustainable solutions. The award celebrates young leaders who are transforming ideas into lasting environmental and social impact.
- John “Mac” McQuown Award for Youth-Led Climate Technology & Innovation: Honors youth-led projects that use technology, research, and innovation to develop scalable solutions for climate and sustainability challenges. It recognizes teams creating transformative ideas with real-world impact.
Special Recognition Awards: The POP Movement also presents Special Recognition Awards for excellence in areas such as Digital Media, Nature Conservation, Sustainable Innovation, Social Awareness, Environmental Awareness, and other contributions that advance the mission of Protect Our Planet.
R.K. Pachauri Award for Youth-Led Climate Action
Award Category: Dr. R.K. Pachauri Award
Project: Beyond the Floods
Recipient's Name: Asma Toorkham
John "Mac" McQuown Award for Youth-Led Climate Technology & Innovation
Award Category: Dr. John Mac McQuown Award
Project: Kapda Karo Recycle (KKR)
Recipient's Name: Sayan Das
Special Recognition Awards
Award Category: Best Project In Its Category
Project: N/A
Recipient's Name: Bernard Kihiyo
Award Category: Digital Media
Project: N/A
Recipient's Name: Barminder Kaur
Award Category: Environmental Awareness
Project: N/A
Recipient's Name: Samuel Said Espinoza Urias
Award Category: Environmental Awareness Accreditation
Project: N/A
Recipient's Name: Abhignya M.
Award Category: Nature Conservation
Project: N/A
Recipient's Name: Aditya Kumar
Award Category: Nature Conservation
Project: N/A
Recipient's Name: Sahil
Award Category: Social Awareness
Project: N/A
Recipient's Name: Ricardo Delgado Lander
Award Category: Social Awareness Accreditation
Project: N/A
Recipient's Name: Ansh Lalwani
Award Category: Social Awareness Accreditation
Project: N/A
Recipient's Name: Monaaleek
R.K. Pachauri Award for Youth-Led Climate Action
Award Category: Dr. R.K. Pachauri Award
Project: Climate Education and School Garden
Recipient's Name: Mark Sara Koroma, Sierra Leone
John "Mac" McQuown Award for Youth-Led Climate Technology & Innovation
Award Category: Dr. John Mac McQuown Award
Project: ClimSci, India
Recipient's Name: Aditya Srinivasan
Special Recognition Awards
Award Category: Biodiversity Conservation Award
Project: N.A
Recipient's Name: Heal(Human And Environment Alliance League)
Award Category: Climate Youth Leadership Award
Project: Founder of Actnow for exemplary leadership in the pursuit of mobilizing youth to take action to Protect Our Planet
Recipient's Name: Rajiv K Shrivastava
Award Category: Community Leader Artistry Award
Project: N.A
Recipient's Name: Mari Muthu (Aashu)
Award Category: Global Goodwill Ambassador Award
Project: For exemplary leadership in the pursuit of mobilizing youth to take action to Protect Our Planet
Recipient's Name: Dr. Raghavan Seetharaman
Award Category: Global Peacemaker Award
Project: Kenya Peace Mediator and Community Mobilizer for exemplary humanitarian leadership and commitment to social justice in the pursuit of action to Protect Our Planet
Recipient's Name: H.E. Mama Shamsa Abubakar Fadhil
Award Category: Nature Conservation Award
Project: N.A
Recipient's Name: Prasiddhi Singh
Award Category: Nature Conservation Award
Project: N.A
Recipient's Name: Levy Nyirenda
Award Category: Sustainable Fashion Award
Project: N.A
Recipient's Name: Abhimanyu Singh Tomar
Award Category: Sustainable Innovation Award
Project: N.A
Recipient's Name: Ved Solanke
Award Category: Sustainable Innovation Award
Project: Kapda Karo Recycle (KKR)
Recipient's Name: Sayan Das
R.K. Pachauri Award for Youth-Led Climate Action
Award Category: Dr. R.K. Pachauri Award
Project: POP Venezuela
Recipient's Name: Dra Veronica Gonzalez
R.K. Pachauri Award for Youth-Led Climate Action
Award Category: Dr. R.K. Pachauri Award
Project: POP Nigeria Initiative
Recipient's Name: Mr. Samuel C. Okorie
John "Mac" McQuown Award for Youth-Led Climate Technology & Innovation
Award Category: Dr. John Mac McQuown Award
Project: The Carbon Footprint Project
Recipient's Name: Ved Sanyal and team
Special Recognition Awards
Award Category: Nature Conservation Award
Project: POP Malawi Initiative
Recipient's Name: Happy Mbewe
Award Category: Nature Conservation Award
Project: N.A
Recipient's Name: Jean Felix Ebo'o
R.K. Pachauri Award for Youth-Led Climate Action
Award Category: Dr. R.K. Pachauri Award
Project: Seas of Change
Recipient's Name: Stephanie Evans
John "Mac" McQuown Award for Youth-Led Climate Technology & Innovation
Award Category: Dr. John Mac McQuown Award
Project: Resilience 2020
Recipient's Name: Ivan Ransom and Kevin Morales
Special Recognition Awards
Award Category: Academic Merit Award
Project: Organizacion ambiental del Estado de Durango, Colegio Tikvah, Mexico
Recipient's Name: Alejandra Karolina Lozano Andrade
Award Category: Best Group Project
Project: Recoleccion de alimentos e insumos medicos para las comunidades venezolanas
Recipient's Name: Yvannis Daniela Serra Torres, Gianfranco Apablaza, Isabella Sofia Navas Cambero, Gabriel Alejandro Perez Chirinos, Maria Alejandra Carrie Figueroa, Maria Andrea Oslo Pena, Giancarlo Jesus Federico Alvarez, Ricardo Jose Carvallo Zabala, Eleana Vazquez, Alejandra Moreno Sarmiento, Alejandro Andres Martins Gamboa.
Award Category: Best Individual Project
Project: Hotel de Abejas l'inaj
Recipient's Name: Ana Del Carmen Poot Cahun
Award Category: Best Innovation Project
Project: Bioenzyme solitary solution
Recipient's Name: Kritika Jain, Vibhor Dudhraj, Debraj Mukhopadhyay, Divya Singh, Anas Rashid And Abhinav Gupta.
Award Category: Best Presented Project
Project: Geoparque Binacional Volcan Tacana
Recipient's Name: Jorge Beltran Vilchis
Award Category: Best Project In Its Category
Project: Seas of change
Recipient's Name: Stephanie Evans, Thilara De Mei, Melissa Chen And Gloria Thomas
Award Category: Blue Circle Award
Project: Plastic Pollution and Biodiversity
Recipient's Name: Meenakshi Rakhesh And Preyasi Desai
Award Category: Blue Circle Award
Project: Ervis Ship
Recipient's Name: Haaziq Kazi
Award Category: Digital Media Award
Project: The Color Book
Recipient's Name: Ana Hanhausen
Award Category: Digital Media Award
Project: The Color Book
Recipient's Name: Daniela Gomez
Award Category: Nature Conservation Award
Project: Save our world
Recipient's Name: Stuti Mishra
Award Category: Nature Conservation Award
Project: Ocean's voice
Recipient's Name: Luciana Verastegui
Award Category: Outstanding Project Idea
Project: Resilience 2020
Recipient's Name: Kevin Morales Munstermann And Ivan Ransom
Award Category: Social Awareness Award
Project: One Less Straw
Recipient's Name: Carter Ries
Award Category: Sustainable Innovation Award
Project: Photovoltaic Systems and Interactive and Technology-Based Climate Solutions
Recipient's Name: Iman El Maach
Special Recognition Awards
Award Category: Poster
Project: Deshidratador con horno solar para un desarrollo de alimentacion sustentable
Recipient's Name: Sandra Abigail Ortega Molinar
Award Category: Poster
Project: Golden tide-a hotspots with environmental threats
Recipient's Name: Sakthi Selva Lakshmi
Award Category: Poster
Project: Plastic Food contact material
Recipient's Name: Drishya Pathak, India
Award Category: Poster
Project: Captura de CO2 en soluciones acuosas para su posible aprovechamiento
Recipient's Name: Leslie Mariscal, Daniel Aguilar Y Juan Pablo Ortega
Award Category: Presentation - Business Model
Project: Hidrogeles de nanocelulosa a partir de residuos de la cascara de platano para la remediacion de aguas residuales - Universidad de Guadalajara.
Recipient's Name: Nidia Elizabeth Martinez
Award Category: Presentation - Civil Society Engagement
Project: Ecoeaters
Recipient's Name: Summer Benjamin, Lauren Sandberg And Caroline Sandberg
Award Category: Presentation - Civil Society Engagement
Project: One less Straw
Recipient's Name: Carter Ries
Award Category: Presentation - Protection To The Environment
Project: Restauracion y reforestacion de bosques fragmentados con especies de arboles nativas y la creacion de areas de conservacion local en el Municipio de Zinacantan, Chiapas.
Recipient's Name: Maria Teresa Perez Gomez
Award Category: Presentation - Protection To The Environment
Project: Establecimiento de un Centro Agroecologico con enfoque permacultural para la recuperacion de seis especies de arboles maderables nativos, reforestacion y restauracion ecosistemica en Chanal, Chiapas
Recipient's Name: Leonardo Gomez Velasco
Award Category: Presentation - Support & Innovation
Project: Fogon Ecologico, San Juan Chamula, Chiapas
Recipient's Name: Mario Santiz
Award Category: Presentation - Sustainable Development Promotion
Project: Sustainability of Self Care Products among vulnerable communities in India
Recipient's Name: Komal Mittal And Drishya Pathak
Award Category: Presentation - Young Environmentalist
Project: Rompecabezas Verde
Recipient's Name: Elvira Miroslava Munoz, Luis Fernando Bautista, Sandra Jimenez M., Diana Morales Y Jose Ramon Sarabia.
Award Category: Presentation - Young Environmentalist
Project: The Environmental Index Project
Recipient's Name: Mateus De Souza