Credit Ashoka Changemakers

The Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) and consumer goods company Unilever, have launched an international award ‘designed to inspire young people around the world to tackle environmental, social and health issues’.

‘HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize’, which was launched on Monday (2 September), is open to individuals under the age of 30 from any part of the world and has a total prize of €200,000 (£169,000).

One overall winner will receive the HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize, alongside a cash award of €50,000 (£42,000), and a ‘tailored programme of advice and mentoring’ (worth a reported €25,000). Six finalists will receive cash prizes of €10,000 (£8,400) along with mentoring support worth an estimated €10,000.

The competition is being hosted on the Ashoka Changemakers social enterprise network.

Assessment criteria

The award seeks to find ‘products, services or applications that enable changes in practices or behaviours’ in one of the following categories:

• improving water, sanitation and hygiene in developing countries or remote areas;
• improving nutrition and taste of food, or promoting healthy diets;
• conserving water or reducing water use, either in communities or in manufacture processes;
• reducing the amount of greenhouse gases produced;
• helping to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste throughout the pre-production, production, and consumption lifecycle;
• encouraging sustainable agriculture or conserving resources; and
• helping smallholder farmers improve their practices.

Entrants will be assessed on three main criteria:

• Innovation: entries should demonstrate a ‘creative’ approach to the challenge they tackle and the solution they propose. This innovation may comprise new products or practices, or new applications or hybrid combinations of existing tools. The initiative does not have to involve inventing something entirely new, but entries should describe how they are driven by ‘original, ground-breaking ideas’.
• Measurable Impact: Entries should explain how the initiative delivers positive social, economic, and/or environmental impact, using both quantitative and qualitative data. Entries should tackle a ‘significant’ sustainability issue, and have the potential to make a ‘big difference’ by being expanded to new markets, sectors, or geographies.
• Financial Sustainability: Entries should have a clear plan for reaching long-term goals and securing financial backing—they should describe not only how they currently finance their work, but also how they plan to finance it in the future. Ideally, a plan should outline how the solution can be sustained without reliance on philanthropic donations or aid for core funding.

According to the Ashoka Changemakers website, entries will also be evaluated on the ‘leadership qualities’ of the entrepreneur, and the contribution that the awards process and prizes will make to the success of the initiative.

Seven finalists will be chosen from the entries in the week commencing 18 November, and will take part in a four week ‘on-line development programme’ in December. They will then take part in a two-day workshop in Cambridge in January 2014 where they will receive ‘professional guidance’ on developing their ideas. Subsequently, the finalists will make a pitch to a panel of judges, who will then decide the eventual winner.

The finalists will then all attend a dinner on 30 January with HRH The Prince of Wales, the patron of the CPSL.

‘Encouraging the innovation and leadership we so urgently need’

Director of CPSL Polly Courtice, LVO, commented on the prize, saying: “We are delighted to bring the research insight and entrepreneurial dynamism of the Cambridge community, alongside our worldwide network of business leaders, to support these awards in encouraging the innovation and leadership we so urgently need. The decision by CPSL’s Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales, to support a prize in his name, underlines the importance he attaches to developing the next generation of sustainability leaders.”

Similarly, Unilever CEO Paul Polman said: “I believe that this award has the potential to be really exciting. Why? Because it provides a focal point for the power and creativity of young entrepreneurs who want to help find solutions for some of the world’s most urgent issues. There is no better way to use our energy, innovation and resourcefulness than spending it trying to create a better future for all in a world we want.”

The closing date for applications is 1 November 2013.

Read more about HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize .