Call for Essays
IOCD, in collaboration with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), invites entries for the fourth year of its annual essay competition on the role of the chemical sciences in sustainability. The launch of the 2026 Competition has been announced in RSC Sustainability, see here. The competition is open globally to entrants under 35 years of age on the closing date. The theme for the 2026 competition is:
How can the chemical sciences ensure sustainable access to clean water for all needs?
Essays will be grouped into seven regions for the selection of winners, based on the entrant’s country of normal residence. Each regional winner will receive a prize of US$ 500 and their entries will be published in RSC Sustainability. The shortlisted essays selected as Finalists will be collected in an annual compendium, Young Voices in the Chemical Sciences for Sustainability, published as a pdf online and available on IOCD’s website. The seven regional groupings (as defined by the World Bank in 2025) are:
- East Asia & Pacific
- Europe & Central Asia
- Latin America & Caribbean
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
- North America
- South Asia
- Sub-Saharan Africa
1. Theme: Broad flexibility will be applied in assessing the approach taken by entrants to framing the theme, which might be addressed, for example, through (but not limited to) contexts such as those related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, specific international challenges such as climate change, clean energy, sustainable production, critical resource shortages or critical resource shortages. Whatever framing is adopted, essays will be judged on how well they highlight the importance of scientific approaches grounded in the chemical sciences for solving sustainability challenges, as well as realism about what more needs to be done. Entrants are encouraged to take a broad, global perspective, including reflecting on the intersection of science, society and policy aspects, rather than to describe a particular scientific advance in great technical detail. Entrants should create their own title for their essay, related to the theme set.
2. Essay constraints and timelines: Essays must not exceed 1500 words of main text. Literature references to indicate sources should be given and original Tables or Figures may be included, in excess of the limit of 1500 words. However, the essay itself should be self-explanatory without requiring further background reading. Entries will initially be screened for compliance with competition rules (including entrant’s age, word count, relevance to the set theme, absence of plagiarism, conformity with the publication requirements of RSC Sustainability) and then reviewed for short-listing. Eligibility is limited to entrants who are under 35 years of age on the submission deadline day of 31 March 2026. The aim is for selection of shortlisted candidates to be completed by around the end of May and the regional finalists determined by the end of May.
3. Prizes: The regional winners of the annual competition will each receive a cash prize of US$ 500 from IOCD and a Winner’s Certificate and their entries will be published by the RSC in RSC Sustainability. The competitors shortlisted for the final round of the Competition will each receive a Finalist’s Certificate and their entries will be published by IOCD in the annual compendium, Young Voices in the Chemical Sciences for Sustainability.
See here for the 2023 regional winners and here for the finalists.
See here for the 2024 regional winners and here for the finalists.
See here for the 2025 regional winners and here for the finalists.
4. Submissions: Essays must be submitted in English as a Word document, not later than midnight GMT on 31 March 2026 to [email protected] accompanied by a completed Entry Form.
