Big Green Challenge blog

The final countdown has begun

11.01.2010

The final countdown’s begun to the announcement of the winners of the Big Green Challenge.

This will be the culmination of NESTA’s two-year search to discover, support and reward communities tackling climate change.

Set up in 2007, the competition challenged applicants to come up with innovative and practical ways of reducing carbon emissions in their communities by offering a £1million prize fund to the most successful projects. Out of the 355 applicants, 100 challengers were short listed and 10 of these went on to become the finalists, each of whom is now awaiting Wednesday’s prize announcement with anticipation.

Finalists were judged on their achievements in four areas: CO2 reductions achieved; the innovative nature of their initiatives; the longevity and scalability of their project and their level of community engagement.

However, as speculation builds around whom the winner might be and we prepare for the big day, it’s important not to forget that Big Green Challenge is about more than just a one-off prize. NESTA’s CEO Jonathan Kestenbaum says ‘When money is tight and the country is facing intractable social challenges, it’s important that we learn about the vital role that communities can play in coming up with solutions to big social challenges such as climate change.’

With 50% of the unsuccessful applicants still active a year after they submitted their proposals, the Big Green Challenge has proven a successful way of incentivising communities to get involved in or create emission reducing schemes. Indeed, 35% of those who submitted applications had not been involved in environmental issues before.

Wednesday’s event will be an opportunity not just to announce the winners, but to celebrate all that the finalists have achieved so far. As importantly, it will send a message to policymakers about the need to align policy to help empower and support communities so they can become part of the solution to the problems that affect them directly.