A SCOTTISH business has been nominated for the prestigious £1 million Earthshot Prize.

Falkirk-based Powering Futures, a start-up social enterprise which aims to bring together one million young people and the industries which will employ them by 2030, has been nominated for the prize by Zero Waste Scotland.

Founded by Prince William, the global environmental award is rewarded to five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism.

Powering Futures is one of 1000 accepted nominations globally, and the next stage involves the creation of a shorter list of 150 potential winners, chasing the £1m prize.

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David Reid and Jen Tempany, co-founders of Powering Futures said: “This is a massive vote of confidence in our ground-breaking sustainability education programme.

“Young people want a bright future, just like their parents wanted, and their grandparents before them. Too often our young people are being told that climate change means they need to stop the world and get off; we are telling them that they can change the world so that we can all stay on.

“Scotland - at the heart of the net zero energy transition from hydrocarbons to renewables, and in need of a high-skilled future workforce to make it happen, is the perfect fit for Powering Futures, and Powering Futures is the perfect fit for The Earthshot Prize.

“We are incredibly excited to be on this journey, and our fingers are crossed that we can go all the way to a date with the Prince and Princess of Wales and a game-changing million pound boost.”

Powering Futures brings Scottish businesses into Scottish education, looking to ensure that school leavers, whether they are going into work, into college or into university, have a grounding in the skills that they will need during their careers.