UNILEVER SUSTAINABLE LIVING YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS AWARDS

Prize: A total of €200,000 in financial support and tailored mentoring will be awarded
Deadline: November 1
Eligibility: Young entrepreneurs (aged 30 or under)

The Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards , developed in
partnership with the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, are
looking for innovative yet practical, tangible solutions created by young people
that help make sustainable living commonplace.
Young entrepreneurs (aged 30 or under) are invited to submit groundbreaking
initiatives that tackle the challenge of sustainable living. Are you a young
entrepreneur with a product, service, or application that could change a practice
or behaviour to enable sustainable living? If so, enter your solution before 1
November, 2013.
A total of €200,000 in financial support and tailored mentoring will be awarded
to the seven most impressive entries.




Eligibility:
The competition is open to individuals aged 30 years and under, from any part
of the world
Entries must fall within one or more of the categories listed below
Assessment Criteria
Entries must have grown beyond the conceptual stage to include actions the
applicant has already taken – whether through informal networks, via an
existing institution, or by creating a new enterprise
Entries must involve products or practices that change behaviour to enable
sustainable living
Entries cannot be accepted from current Unilever employees, nor can entries
promote Unilever or its products
Entries must be submitted in English Click To Apply
Prizes:
One overall winner will receive the HRH The Prince of Wales Young
Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize alongside a cash award of €50,000, and a
tailored programme of advice and mentoring (worth €25,000).
Six finalists will also receive cash prizes of €10,000 along with mentoring
support (worth €10,000).
All will benefit from exposure to a range of leading sustainability experts,
entrepreneurs, and investors during the process. They will also receive
recognition via Unilever’s global channels and the University of Cambridge’s
network, as well as at a prestigious dinner in London in January 2014.
How to enter:
For advice about how to create a stronger entry, read these tips .
You must enter by 5:00pm GMT on 1 November, 2013.
Assessment Criteria
Entrants will be assessed on three main criteria:
Innovation : The best entries will 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. The best projects will tackle a significant sustainability issue,
and will 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.
The strongest entries will outline how their solution can be sustained without
reliance on philanthropic donations or aid for core funding.
Entries will also be evaluated on:
The leadership qualities of the entrepreneur, including how effectively they are
able to engage with relevant communities and stakeholders to realise the
potential of the solution
The contribution that the awards process and prizes will make to the success of
the initiative
Entries must fall within one or more of the following seven categories:
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Poor hygiene, lack of safe drinking water and poor sanitation are the cause of
millions of preventable deaths. 780 million people do not have access to an
improved drinking water source and 80% of diseases in the developing world are
water-borne.
Entries in this category address how individuals in the developing world can be
healthier—and communities more productive—if they have access to clean
water and better sanitation. Entrants may address how to improve hygiene
practices in any country, or offer an innovation to improve access to sanitation
in remote areas.
Nutrition
Around the world, concern is rising about the role that nutrition plays in public
health. People are living more sedentary lives and calorie-rich foods are more
available and affordable. The result is a higher incidence of obesity, while at the
same time millions of people around the world remain hungry or lack sufficient
essential nutrients in their diets.
Entries in this category focus on innovations in products with improved taste
and nutritional quality that can form part of a healthy, balanced diet, or in
promoting healthy diets and lifestyles.
Water scarcity
Water shortages are increasingly prevalent around the world and are
exacerbated by a number of factors, including climate change and population
increase. By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with
absolute water scarcity and two-thirds will experience water-stressed
conditions.
Entries in this category provide solutions for conserving or reducing the amount
of water used across our communities, from water use during the extraction or
cultivation of raw materials, through manufacturing processes, to the design
and use of household products.
Greenhouse Gases
Extreme weather patterns, water scarcity, and their impact on agriculture and
communities are affecting people everywhere, with developing countries among
the most vulnerable to climate change. To avoid the worst effects of climate
change, new solutions need to be found to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and to help people live sustainably.
Entries in this category provide solutions for society to reduce carbon footprints
through innovation, new product development, cost efficiencies, or by adopting
less carbon-intensive ways of living and working.
Waste
Packaging plays a key role in protecting products, but it can also end up as
waste in landfills and dumping grounds, or as litter. Increasing scarcity of
resources makes it ever more urgent to be efficient with packaging and find
solutions to deal with “post-consumer waste.” This is particularly important in
developing markets where infrastructure to manage packaging waste has not
kept pace with the rapid rise in consumption.
Entries in this category will help to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste throughout
the pre-production, production, and consumption lifecycle. Innovations to reduce
packaging should demonstrate significant cost benefits in materials, energy, and
transport.
Sustainable Agriculture
Agriculture and forestry are the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas
emissions, and are major drivers of climate change. Food security is also
increasingly under threat, and there is an urgent need to source food
sustainably.
Entries in this category demonstrate innovation that not only protects the
planet’s natural resources, but also offers a long-term approach that can create
value for farmers, and ensure security of supply for the long-term. Entries also
ensure deforestation, land use, and social and community issues are managed
responsibly.
Smallholder Farmers World food production will have to increase 50% by 2030
to meet growing demand. The most productive agricultural areas are already
used, so the focus needs to be on increasing productivity elsewhere, especially
in emerging economies. In emerging markets, three out of four low-income
people depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods.
Entries in this category help smallholder farmers improve their practices, by
giving them access to education, community support, materials, and tools.
Innovation may also focus on the supply chains of smallholders, or ways to
improve the distribution of goods.
Deadlines, Procedures and Rules
Applications must be submitted online through the Changemakers website
between 2 September and 1 November, 2013.
Seven finalists will be announced during the week of November 18. All finalists
will be required to join online sessions beginning in December 2013 to develop
their ideas and build their networks. Attendance is also required at the
Accelerator Workshop in Cambridge, UK. Finalists must be able to arrive on
Sunday, 26 January, 2014 to attend the programme beginning that evening and
continuing through the 28th, followed by delivery of a pitch to final prize judges
on 29 January. All finalists will also be invited to join high-level business
executives, thought leaders, and international sustainability leaders at a
prestigious dinner on the evening of 30 January, at which the HRH The Prince
of Wales Prize will be awarded.
Mentoring and ongoing support is provided to all award winners, and will be
designed and structured around individual requirements through the online
programme and until Autumn 2014.
Disclaimer – Compliance with Legal Restrictions
The sponsor of this opportunity reserves the right to disqualify at any time (in
its reasonable discretion) any participant or entry for good cause, including, but
not limited to, non-compliance with these Guidelines and Criteria, the
Changemakers Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, or violation of any applicable
laws, codes, or regulations.
Click To Apply