In 2026, it can feel like we are at an inflection point in the fight against climate change—and not necessarily in a positive way. In the U.S., the government is focused on deregulating industries like oil and gas while actively disinvesting in renewable energy. In the private sector, the AI race is focused on building larger (read: more resource-intensive) data centers. But even as climate change disappears from corporate websites and the federal government’s list of priorities, there are companies and organizations keeping the fight alive—and bringing true innovation to it.
These World Changing Ideas honorees are all thinking about how we can be better stewards of the earth. Their efforts run the gamut. Circular Solutions is devising ways to track recycling efficacy, Musa is showing that new developments can exist with the environment in mind, and Sceye is rethinking how wildfires are detected. And those are just a few of the projects below with a genuine commitment to earth stewardship.
Winners
A Solution for Land-Based Oil Spills, VML
Read more about how VML worked with the University of the Andes and outdoor apparel brand Atratus to explore a potential way to remediate oil spills on land.
Agentic AI for food and agriculture, Cropin Technology Solutions
Cropin, an India-based AI platform for global food and agriculture, has been building AI innovations since 2015 to help power models to understand crop behavior, environmental variability, and global farming systems. The company maintains what it says is the world’s largest structured repository of agricultural intelligence, covering 400 crops and more than 10,000 varieties across 103 countries, allowing for hyper-local predictions about agricultural performance. In 2024, Cropin launched an enterprise-grade GenAI platform for food and agriculture that offers yield forecasting, climate-risk intelligence, disease detection, and supply-chain planning to help farmers make smarter decisions about their farms.
Circular OS verified recycling, Circular Solutions
Many companies have bold commitments to how much of their product is being recycled, but accurately tracking this data has been historically difficult and prone to error. Circular Solutions has created an AI-enabled, blockchain-based technology platform called Circular OS to help businesses solve this problem. It can provide verifiable documentation of the full recycling supply chain, taking operational recycling data from brands, properties, haulers, recycling facilities, and manufacturers, and transforming it into metrics, dashboards, and communications that can prove impact and prevent greenwashing. The company has been especially active in tracking recycling at sports venues, working with events like the PGA Tour, the NCAA Men & Women’s Final Four, and the Super Bowl—as well as assisting Coca-Cola in implementing tracking to help create a supply chain to increase the amount of recycled plastic in its bottles.
Decarbonizing the vanilla supply chain, Vanilla Bean Project
The Vanilla Bean Project’s goal is to decarbonize the global vanilla supply chain, and it is doing it via sailboat. The company works with farmers in Madagascar to grow regenerative organic-certified vanilla (the first available in the U.S.), which improves soil health and supports fair working conditions. Then it ships the vanilla on a sailboat across the Atlantic. The company completed its first delivery in April 2025, and it has committed to using Windcoop, a new sail-powered cargo vessel scheduled to begin operations in 2027, which will reduce the carbon footprint of vanilla extract by 60%.
H2Now Chicago waterway monitoring, Current
In September 2025, the historically polluted Chicago River hosted the first swim in 98 years. How did bathers know it was safe? Water monitoring from Current’s H2now Chicago, which lets users see real-time data (updated every 15 minutes) about microbial water quality—the first of its kind in a U.S. urban waterway. Usually water-quality monitoring involves lab testing that can take hours or days, which doesn’t allow for instant understanding of whether a river is swimmable. But now both people interested in a dip and city officials can understand if rainwater has spiked contamination and react accordingly. Other cities may soon adopt the technology, which has been developed as part of Great Lakes RENEW—a $160 million National Science Foundation–funded initiative led by Current around Chicago to build the nation’s first connected test bed network for water technology.
Stratospheric wildfire detection, Sceye
Some 65,000 feet above the earth, flying machines operated by Sceye are constantly monitoring the surface, detecting and manage wildfires in real time. The machines, which look like blimps, are called HAPS (High-Altitude Platform Systems), and fly in a zone higher than commercial aviation but below satellites. They’re filled with helium, powered by renewables, and can hover over small areas for months to provide persistent monitoring of high-risk wildfire zones (the company also works on monitoring industrial emissions and provides internet connectivity). In 2025, the company added more sensors to its flights, as well as testing its technology over controlled burns managed by fire departments, allowing Sceye to test and validate its models for detecting ignition, recognizing smoke, and alerting first responders.
Sustainable coastal community, MUSA
MUSA—a regenerative vacation destination and permanent community in Mexico outside of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo—is designed to show that new development can also create environmental progress. The development has planted 10,000 trees and helped protect local mangroves, while also installing a 1.7 million gallon freshwater “biopool”—a freshwater swimming pool, a biological filtration zone to naturally clean the water, enough solar to be self-reliant, and greywater-recycling systems. The project aims to be a model, showing that land restoration and climate-positive building can be part of real estate and hospitality development in environmentally sensitive locations.
Targeted outdoor heaters, Focal
Outdoor dining exploded during the pandemic, and it’s now a permanent revenue stream for many restaurants. But a lot of restaurants still rely on propane heaters, which require heavy labor, cost about $500 per service in fuel, and are starting to be banned in cities around the world. Focal’s heaters are designed to make people warm, not just spaces—reducing their environmental impact and costs. Using robotics and AI, restaurant customers scan a QR code to get heat beamed directly at them when they need it. The heaters are being rolled out at Bay Area restaurants now, which are seeing labor savings and higher heating efficiency.
Honorable Mentions
Adapt2Win, Wrthy
Biopod, Biopod Co.
CropVoice, InnerPlant
Edges of Earth, Edges of Earth
Eliminating diesel in the cold chain, Ecolution Power Co.
Jaguar Rivers Initiative, Fundación Rewilding Argentina, Onçafari, Fundación Moisés Bertoni, and Nativa
Making Waves Initiative, Carbon180
Mapping subsurface geochemistry, Voluna
Mission Membership, 1 Hotels
Northeast Habitats & Highways, The Nature Conservancy
Ocean Gardens, Mohimohi Moana
Explore the full list of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, 191 projects that are making the world more accessible, equitable, and sustainable.