Join us for the 2nd Startup’s event at the UN in Geneva.
The adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, has marked a key milestone for the world. It’s now time to take action and to find concrete solutions that can help countries achieve their commitments under this ambitious plan. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is on the front line to give its contribution.
At the same time, there is a “startup revolution” going on, producing innovation with an impact on our day-to-day life, and changing the way we do business.
We, at UNECE, want to bring such powerful engine of transformation into our work for sustainable development and the green economy to improve people’s wellbeing.
The Startups’ Event
After the success of the 1st event, on 26 April 2017 UNECE will host the second startups’ event at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The event will show-case how innovative entrepreneurial talent can contribute to address today’s social and environmental challenges, through new groundbreaking ideas that can become successful business.
It will take place in the context of the UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (25 April) and Commission Session 2017 in Geneva (26-27 April) a high-level inter-governmental gathering, where delegates of 56 Member States, will commit to actions to advance the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda in the years to come.
Call for ideas
If you want to take part, send us your idea!
We are looking for innovative projects and new solutions for sustainable development in a wide range of fields directly related to our work and themes.
The Jury
The international jury is composed by highly-recognized experts coming from different backgrounds, including business, academia and policy making.
Call for Ideas
We are looking for innovative projects and new solutions in a wide range of fields directly related to our work and themes, and that can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030.
We are interested not only in products and technologies but also in social innovation and new ways of doing things!
If you are willing to join, send us your idea!
How to apply
The application process is simple:
1. Read the Terms and Conditions
2. Complete the online Entry Form
3. Submit the form between 24 January 2017 and 12 March 2017
4. If selected, you will be invited to submit a full proposal by 10 April 2017
Selection process and timetable
The competition launches on 24 January 2017.
Finalists will be invited to present their proposal at the 2nd UNECE Ideas for Change Award in Geneva, during the UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development and Commission Session.
Participants, representatives of countries and civil societies, together with the Expert Jury, will vote for the three best proposals and an official award ceremony will be held during the session.
The selection process is as follows:
Stage 1:
First round of submissions (concept note submitted through the entry form).
24 January 2017– 12 March 2017 (Deadline for entries 24.00 hrs CET)
Stage 2:
Selection of finalists.
20 March 2017
Stage 3:
Second round of submissions by finalists (full proposal guidelines will follow later. Submission by email ideas4change@unece.org).
1 April – 10 April 2017 (Deadline for entries 24.00 CET)
Stage 4:
Meeting with the Expert Jury and final selection of three award winners based on documentation and a presentation during the UNECE Ideas for Change Award at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
25-27 April 2017
Please note that the finalists are expected to be presented at the UNECE Ideas for Change Award ceremony.
Finalists will be informed no later than 20 March about their travel to Geneva.
UNECE will provide travel support to the finalists in accordance with UN rules and regulations.
Areas of Interest
Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, or example:
Energy
Energy, e.g. smart energy consumption habits, zero emission energy sources, smart applications for energy efficiency; small scale production of renewable energy.
Environment
Environment, e.g. recycling and circular economy projects, measurement of environmental footprints, public participation in environmental decision making.
Food
Food, e.g. cost effective, environmentally friendly and healthy methods to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables.
Housing
Housing, e.g. green and affordable housing, housing solutions with a positive social impact (including for special groups like students or the ageing), urban design for sustainability, low cost solutions for low energy housing, urban design for sustainability.
Forests
Forests, e.g. innovative use of forest products, including non-wood products like food, medicine or fashion, and use of forest spaces.
Trade
Trade, e.g. low cost solutions for products tracking and tracing; applications to facilitate international trade.
Transport
Transport, e.g. road safety, smart urban mobility.
Statistics
Statistics, e.g. the use of “big data” in sustainability projects.
Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
You are:
1. Resident in a Member State of UNECE.
2. (a) a company or non-profit organization founded after 1st January 2015; or
(b) a team of individuals planning to startup a company or a non-profit organization.
3. Able to present your product, service or idea in English.
4. Willing and able to travel to Geneva during 25 to 27 April 2017.
Selection criteria (in no particular order)
1. Relevance to UNECE areas of work
2. Potential for social and environmental impact; i.e. potential of the product, service or idea to make a
difference to one of the themes in this call
3. Potential for sustainability (profitability or at least cost-recovery on a sustained basis)
4. Quality of the business/project plan
5. Quality of the team
Jury and Award
Jury
The international jury is composed by highly-recognized experts coming from different backgrounds, including business, academia and policy making.
Christian Friis Bach is the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) since July 2014. Christian previously served as Denmark’s Minister for Development Cooperation and Special Advisor to the European Union Commission for the United Nations Global Sustainability Panel. He is Honorary Professor of International Economics and Development at the University of Copenhagen. He also has private sector experience from running a start-up company and has worked as a journalist at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. Christian holds a Ph.D. in International Economics, a MSc in Agronomy from the Royal Danish Agricultural University in Copenhagen and a supplementary degree in Journalism from the Danish School of Media and Journalism.
Buke Cuhadar serves as Vice President of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), a year-round platform of programs and initiatives created by the communities that celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week each November. Aimed at creating one global entrepreneurial ecosystem, GEN helps people in 165 countries unleash their ideas and turn them into promising new ventures. Buke has primary responsibility for coordinating the leaders of national networks in each of those countries while strengthening the collection of organizations that support them.
Prior to joining Global Entrepreneurship Network, Buke was the Marcom and Outreach Director at Endeavor Turkey, an affiliate of a global organization to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. While at Endeavor Turkey, Buke led the GEW Turkey campaign building a successful initiative and Board engaging more than 200 players across the entrepreneurship spectrum in Turkey.
Sharon Kedmi is co-founder and CEO of Demeter-AWE Holdings, LTD, a global consulting and investment firm providing expertise and technological assistance to governments and entrepreneurs in the agriculture, water and energy sectors. In addition, Sharon currently serves as Special Envoy for Economic Development for the Peres Center. Appointed Director-General of Israel’s Ministry of the Economy in 2009, he coordinated and implemented Ministry policy particularly in industrial and economic development, job creation, international trade and investment in technology infrastructure. In February 2014, he was elected Chair of the UNECE Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration. Sharon holds a Bachelor Degree in International Relations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as well as graduate degrees in Finance and Accounting.
Award
Finalists will be invited to present their proposals at the 2nd UNECE Ideas for Change Award at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Delegates from 56 Member States, together with the Expert Jury, will vote for the three best proposals and an official award ceremony will be held during the session.
Winners (1 to 3) will receive an official Award Certificates during the 2017 UNECE session.
Winners (1 to 3) will receive a stipend with Mass Challenge Accelerator in Jerusalem – one of the most prestigious Startups Accelerators in the world (all inclusive).
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MassChallenge is the most startup-friendly accelerator on the planet. No equity and not-for-profit, they are obsessed with helping entrepreneurs across all industries. MassChallenge also reward the highest-impact startups through a competition to win a portion of several million dollars in equity-free cash awards. Through their global network of accelerators in Boston, the UK, Israel, Switzerland, and Mexico and unrivalled access to their corporate partners, they can have a massive impact — driving growth and creating value the world over. To date, their 1,211 alumni have raised $1.8 billion, generated $700 million in revenue, and created over 60,000 jobs. |
Winner and Finalists of the 1st Ideas4Change Award
Winner of both Jury and Popular Vote
Orange Fiber from Italy
Orange Fiber produces functional textiles – releasing vitamins on the skin – from citrus industrial pulp resulting from orange juice production. It aims at reducing the cost and the environmental impact of citrus pulp disposal, thus creating an innovative and sustainable textile. The innovation has been developed jointly with Politicnico di Milano and was patented in Italy in 2013 and extended as PCT in 2014, when the first prototype was produced.
Orange fiber received several national and international awards, ranking among top 5 startup in Creative industries at the world level at Copenhagen Creative Business Cup 2013 and was nominated Changemaker for EXPO Milano 2015.
Take a minute to imagine all the industrial waste of citrus transformation in the world turned into a sustainable and biodegradable textile which is a cosmetic and vitamin enriched cream to wear, available for sustainable collections and conscious consumers.
Website : Orange Fiber
Awarded a coaching trajectory by Set Squared Partnership
AEInnova from Spain
AEInnova Waste Heat Recovery Unit (WHRU) is a system capable to convert waste heat from any hot surface into electricity.
Only in Europe in 2012, the industry lost 140 TeraWatts per hour of energy due to their waste heat emissions, the equivalent energy generated by 30 nuclear power stations.
Moreover, this waste heat, contributed in 1ºC to the global warming, corresponding to a CO2 reduction of about 14 Million tons per year.
Most WHRU use mechanical systems based on the steam machine, which increases maintenance requirements, complexity and costs.
The AEInnova product combines thermoelectric devices with the latest microelectronic technologies and wireless sensor networks to increase performace and real time monitoring, without any mechanical component and need for maintenance.
In 2014 AEinnova won the spanish EcoEmprendedorXXI award and other important national recognitions.
Website : AEInnova
Awarded a coaching trajectory by I3P Politecnico di Torino
Pnat – Jellyfish Barge from Italy
The Jellyfish Barge modular floating greenhouse for intensive cultivation, is able to purify sea water by using solar energy. It consists of a wooden base floating on recycled plastic drums, supporting a glass greenhouse with solar panels, which provide the low energy required to power the fans and pumps. This system represents a solution for producing food next to the final consumer without consuming land, energy and fresh water.
The Jellyfish Barge will be presented at Milan Expo 2015.
Website : Pnat
Breezometer from Israel
Breezometer’s mission is to improve the health and quality of life for billions of people worldwide, by providing accurate air quality data for consumers and businesses in a format as simple, intuitive and actionable as weather data.
Using big data analytics that allows gathering air quality & weather data from thousands of sources together with unique algorithms, Breezometer tracks and interprets the level of air quality, right down to street level,worldwide. The company provides the data to customers through API’s, apps and more.
Breezometer was named “the most promising startup company in 2014” by Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Website : breezometer
Improved Photovoltaic System -PVT from Armenia
The new type, high efficiency and cost effective solar hybrid Photovoltaic and Thermal (PVT) system, makes solar energy systems an affordable reality. The proposed PVT system is a dual solar collector generating both electric and thermal energy. It generates up to 40% more electricity than an equivalent conventional PV system with same peak output, reduces the required roof space and has much lower cost compared with separate solar PV and Thermal systems, and has increased efficiency up to 70% due to generation of both electric and thermal energy. The proposed technology allows getting maximum energy from sun with minimum cost.
Contact : rvardan@seua.am
MEGA from Moldova
MEGA Generation is an online platform for community-based environmental/social education and eco-innovation development. MEGA Generation uses such concepts as gamification, open-source ecology, and citizen science to empower people worldwide to create a more sustainable world with their own minds and hands and to change behavior towards a more eco-friendly one.
The Mega team received several international award and is partners to Berkeley University.
Website : MEGA
