Leading architect Sir Terry Farrell, and Ecologist founder Zac Goldsmith MP, will pick the winners of the Mayor's inaugural Low Carbon Prize. The search is on for the capital's brightest students with innovative ideas to cut carbon emissions. Finalists will have the chance to pitch their ideas in person to the eminent panel with a share of a £20,000 prize and a unique boost to their CV up for grabs.
The Mayor Boris Johnson's Low Carbon Prize is sponsored by one of the UK's leading home builders, The Berkeley Group, and has been developed to stimulate new innovations to reduce carbon specifically from buildings, the biggest source of these emissions. The competition, with a total prize pot worth £20,000, is open to all undergraduates and postgraduates at Further and Higher Education Institutions in London. Students across 19 Universities and 50 colleges are being targeted and people can find out more online, or by tweeting @GLAenergy #myidea2cutC02.
The winner or winners will be rewarded with a cash prize presented by the Mayor at a City Hall event, as well as help to develop the practical application of their ideas and expert mentoring from an industry leader. The Mayor has also pledged his support for the most promising submission. The winner will also in turn, have the chance to mentor pupils from the Mayor's Academies adding an additional boost to their resume.
The Mayor hopes the winning entries could in the future be used to help drive investment specifically in building retrofitting activity, which is expected to generate tens of thousands of jobs and generate billions of investment into the economy. London's buildings account for nearly 80 per cent of carbon emissions and making them energy efficient, for example by retrofitting older buildings with energy efficiency devices, accounts for 41 per cent of the overall investment the city requires to achieve the Mayor's ambition for a 60 per cent carbon cut by 2025. Eighty per cent of London's buildings will still be standing in 2050, and retrofitting and supplying them with cleaner forms of energy are the central focus of the Mayor's strategy. This prize is set to nurture new enterprises and skills to deliver the Mayor's goals.
The Mayor's environment director, Kulveer Ranger, said: "I am delighted to welcome Sir Terry Farrell and Zac Goldsmith to the judging panel of the Mayor's Low Carbon Prize. Both men bring a wealth of expertise relevant to our search for new ideas that could be the next generation's equivalent of double glazing, smart meters or roof insulation and there is a £20,000 incentive at stake as well as the prestige of becoming our very first winner. This all adds up to a fantastic opportunity for London students to gain an envy-inducing CV boost."
Zac Goldsmith MP said 'I’m thrilled to have been asked to be be part of the judging panel of this innovative competition. Students are not only being encouraged to think about how to reduce London’s carbon emissions, they are being given a once in a life time opportunity to have a direct influence on the way this is achieved. I look forward to seeing the entries, and I wish all participants the very best of luck.'
Organisers have made entry simpler and easier. Students can now apply; via twitter (tweet us #myidea2cutC02 to find out how); by emailing a short video or design for your idea or submitting our application or send in a video of your idea to [email protected]
The prize has been made possible thanks to sponsorship from The Berkeley Group, while the London Universities Environment Group (LUEG) is helping to deliver the scheme by processing applications and promoting the award to London's students. Fellow judges Trish Andrews of the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) and Dr Neil Jennings of Student Switch Off have considerable expertise in low carbon living. The Mayor's environment programmes aim to create green jobs in a low carbon economy as well as improve quality of life by putting "the village" back into the city, by making it cleaner and greener.
Tony Pidgley, Chairman of The Berkeley Group said: "Reducing carbon emissions from new homes and buildings is an important challenge for the home building industry and I hope that Berkeley's support of the Mayor's Low Carbon Prize will inspire London's students to come up with new low carbon ideas and technologies that we can include in our homes in years to come."
Dr Victoria Hands, Director of the Sustainability Hub at Kingston University and Chair of the London Universities Environment Group (LUEG), said: "The London Universities Environment Group (LUEG) is delighted to support the Mayor's Low Carbon Prize. Students across London's Higher and Further Education Institutions are crucial to ensuring London's low carbon economy and this prize is a great incentive for them to showcase their innovation and talent and potentially win support to take these bright ideas to market."
Danielle Grufferty, Vice President Society and Citizenship, NUS: "London's students can benefit from financial support and invaluable business mentoring for their entrepreneurial ideas through the Mayor's Low Carbon Prize. The NUS welcomes such support of student innovation."
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony at City Hall in March 2012. Students can find out more and apply online at: www2.lse.ac.uk/intranet/LSEServices/estatesDivision/sustainableLSE/policyObjectives/communityInvolvement/LUEG/home.aspx. Applicants will need to provide proof of student status at a London HE or FE institution.
Notes to editors:
- Emissions from London’s building, its workplaces and homes, account for nearly 80 per cent of London’s carbon emissions. That equates to 35 million tonnes of carbon every year. That figure needs to reduce to 13 million tonnes by 2025, if London is to meet its target of cutting 60 per cent of carbon by 2025. 70 per cent of London’s existing buildings will still in place by 2050, so retrofitting existing building stock to make these savings is vital.
- For more information on the Mayor’s environment programmes, visit: www.london.gov.uk