Associate Professor Arunima Malik from University of Sydney has been named one of three 2025 International Champions by the Frontiers Planet Prize, earning US$1 million (A$1.54 million) to support her groundbreaking sustainability research.
The award recognises her paper, Polarising and equalising trends in international trade and Sustainable Development Goals, published in Nature Sustainability. The work was developed with colleagues at the University of Sydney’s Centre for Integrated Sustainability Analysis, using big-data modelling to track sustainability impacts of global trade, modern slavery, and carbon footprints.
“We live in an increasingly interconnected world driven by complex supply chain networks,” Associate Professor Malik said. “These interconnections present opportunities to improve standards of living, but also generate adverse impacts in the form of resource depletion, pollution, habitat loss and inequality.”
Her research explores how international trade affects environmental and social outcomes in partner countries, with the goal of informing policies that address these challenges and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Professor Mark Scott, said the award was a proud moment for the institution.
“At the University of Sydney we’ve been aware of the excellent work that Associate Professor Malik and her colleagues have been undertaking,” he said. “It’s wonderful that a prestigious panel of international peers has now given it due recognition.”
The prize, one of the largest individual monetary awards ever received by a University of Sydney academic, must be spent on further research.
“With these resources, we can advance research with policy-relevant insights, and develop tools to inform sustainable solutions,” Malik said.
She acknowledged the contributions of her co-authors and thanked the Frontiers Planet Prize for the recognition, saying: “The award is a testament to the successful interdisciplinary collaboration across multiple institutions.”
Associate Professor Malik was selected by the Australian Academy of Science and earlier named the Australian Champion. The other two International Champions are Professor Zahra Kalantari (Sweden) and Dr Zia Mehrabi (USA).