Green business plans compete for €500,000
- Sep 08, 2011
The sustainable entrepreneurs in the running for the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge 2011 grand prize have been announced as…
- Andreas Zachariah, 40, of the United Kingdom, whose smartphone app Carbon Diem detects the user’s mode of transport, calculates CO2 emissions and suggests alternatives, raising travellers’ awareness so they can alter their behaviour.
- Dutchman Peter van Dommele, 49, whose 4-D Kameleon system of rotating cartridges can be installed on building surfaces to absorb solar energy, collect rainwater, reduce CO2 and display messages.
- Eden Full, 19, of Canada, whose SunSaluter, a $10 bamboo and metal rotator, boosts solar panels’ effectiveness by 40 per cent by tilting them toward the sun.
- Sweden's Svante Bengtsson, 40, whose Rehact cooling, warming and ventilation system for buildings cuts energy use by 85 per cent by transferring air between inside and outside.
- Dutchwoman Marjolein Helder, 28, whose natural electricity-generating system Plant-e uses electrodes to harvest continuous power from live plants grown in a bed of activated carbon and water.
- Nick Christy, 39, of Australia, whose Water Recycling Shower cuts water and energy use and costs by 70 per cent without sacrificing enjoyment or hygiene by heating water as needed and sterilising it before reuse.
On September 14th the six finalists will present their ideas to move the world towards a sustainable future. The winner will then be announced on September 15th and will receive the €500,000 prize money to help bring his or her product or service to the marketplace. Alongside the grand prize, the jury will also award a total of €200,000 to one or two runners-up.
The Green Challenge has been held every year since 2007, when Richard Branson was jury chairman, to bring together sustainable innovations from around the world. The organisation behind the Green Challenge, Dutch Postcode Lottery, was founded in 1989 with the aim of helping create a fairer, greener world and has so far donated over €3.3 billion to charities. They have also co-founded and supported the Carbon War Room to help implement market-driven solutions to climate change.
To find out more information visit:
Website: www.greenchallenge.info
Twitter: @PLGreenChalleng
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PostcodeLotteryGreenChallenge
Image from the Green Challenge 2010 awards
Helen Craig
