Big Green Challenge

The Big Green Challenge, launched in October 2007, is a £1 million prize fund to encourage and reward people working together to find new and better ways to tackle climate change. We're challenging not-for-profit groups and organisations to develop and implement approaches to achieve significant reduction of C02 emissions in their communities.

Through the Big Green Challenge, we aim to reveal, and better understand, the potential power of new forms of community-led action on climate change - and the infrastructure (support, finance, organisational structure and policy) needed to maximise the potential of these innovations.

Latest Big Green Challenge news

We've selected 10 finalists from the 350 initial entries to compete for a share of the £1 million prize. They now have from October 2008 to October 2009 to put their approach into practice and demonstrate a reduction in C0₂ emissions.

Finalists:

Back 2 Earth - Hackney, London
Back 2 Earth is based at Hackney City Farm and aims to be a community resource and environmental improvement centre, promoting healthy living and implementing its 60 ideas for carbon reduction which include environmental workshops, courses and rainwater collection and reuse.
www.hackneycityfarm.co.uk

Community Sustainability Trust - Oxford
Oxford Community Association 'Low Carbon West Oxford' is planning to reduce CO2 and deal with flooding via its 'community sustainability trust'. Key projects will include water cycling and harvesting, on-farm anaerobic digestion and community food production.

Faith and Climate Change in Birmingham - Birmingham
Faith and Climate Change in Birmingham is taking a technological and holistic approach towards their project. By incorporating work such as community gardening, theological debates, street clean-ups and tree planting they intend to include all faiths in their community to help reduce CO2.
www.birminghamfoe.org.uk

The Green School Bus - Lytham
The Green School Bus project, run by St Bedes School, aims to set up a Green Bus for the school and community that would use biodiesel, be equipped with solar roof panels and have charging points for pupils' laptops, mobile phones and iPods/MP3 players.
www.stbedeslytham.lancs.sch.uk

Household Energy Service - community owned ESCo. - Bishop's Castle
Light Foot Enterprises will set up a number of community owned and operated volunteer workforces to help people take the maximum number of environmental measures at the lowest costs and provide ongoing contact and support.
www.light-foot.org

Isle of Eigg - Isle of Eigg, Scotland
The Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust is planning a range of innovative initiatives including community biodiesel use, using excess heat from island electricity generation to heat community buildings and new recycling schemes for paper and oil.
www.isleofeigg.org

Global Generation - Kentish Town, London
A small charity in Kentish Town who would like to further develop their practical programmes, using young people as climate change champions. Their wide range of techniques for CO2 reduction includes the innovative green rooftops in urban spaces programme.
www.globalgeneration.org.uk

Meadows Ozone Green Loans - Nottingham
The Nottingham Energy Partnership, a charity working with a local credit union, has designed a 0% interest finance scheme for energy efficiency improvements, and is working on other projects, including a local energy company selling green electricity from a 330kW wind turbine.
www.nottenergy.com

The Three Green Valleys - Brecon, Wales
This group aims to develop micro hydro generation on steep valley sides that will produce enough electricity to finance further installations and provide capital for habitat restoration, efficiency measures and community food and transport projects.

Used Cooking Oil Alliance - Arundel, Sussex
Work This Way aims to set up a bio-fuels production programme in conjunction with Ford Prison in Sussex, collecting used vegetable oil from other prisons in the region to offer to local communities. Through the scheme, offenders will develop training and skills to enable them to find sustainable employment when released from prison. 

Further information:

Visit the Big Green Challenge website for more information and to register for updates.

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