Calling All Climate Change Enterpreneurs….
Climate change entrepreneurs………… your time is now!
The world believes that entrepreneurs are key to climate change solutions, so get set to present your business plan.
Forum for the Future, a not-for-profit sustainable development organization has collaborated with the Financial Times, newspaper and technology giant HP to announce the FT Climate Change Challenge, a competition offers a $75,000 prize for the best innovation to tackle climate change.
The FT Climate Change Challenge aims to find the most promising new innovations designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or help increase our resilience to the consequences of global warming. The winning entry can be from any field, including construction, energy, transport, or social innovation.
The competition, which closes for entries on January 30th, has been supported by Innovation Exchange - the world’s first ‘collaborative’ open innovation marketplace with an international community of innovators and thought leaders that work individually or collaborate in teams to solve clients’ business innovation challenges. Innovation Exchange’s clients are Global 5000 companies and not-for-profit organizations that want to increase their innovation capacity beyond their internal teams to discover their next important innovation, minimize their innovation risk and accelerate time-to-market. www.innovationexchange.com
- » See also: How to Have a Truly Sustainable Cup of Coffee
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Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the Nobel Prize-winning chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, sits on the panel of judges for the global competition. He said,
“You don’t have to be doing this for altruistic reasons. The future is low-carbon. So those who are ahead of the game now – who see the way things are moving – will reap the benefits. There are opportunities in just about every sector of the economy.”
Dr. Pachauri believes that companies who respond to the challenge of creating a low-carbon society will reap commercial success, but those who ignore it will struggle to survive.
“Look at General Motors. This was one company which did not read the writing on the wall, and as a result they are virtually in a state of bankruptcy. If they had only responded the way Toyota did seven, eight years ago, identifying and pursuing low-carbon opportunities, they would have been in a pretty strong position today.”
He dismissed suggestions that the recession should take priority over the environment and praised incoming US President Barack Obama’s drive to create green jobs.
Entry forms for the competition can be completed or downloaded here
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[...] accountability for how businesses are impacting the deteriorating environment around us. Smart eco-preneurists will tap into these long-term strategies that ultimately educate consumers and reinforce the goals [...]
The challenge to innovate should be a top priority going forward as we can do great things in the are of combating climate change simply by tapping into our large base of creative inventors.