2020 Ashden Awards calling All Sustainable Energy Pioneers

Applications are now open for 2020 Ashden Award to increase access to sustainable energy and improving lives through sustainable energy, in response to the climate emergency.

Ashden awards enterprises and programmes that are tackling climate change and that promote a fair transition through innovation with the potential for huge impact. They are seeking solutions ready to scale that contribute to decarbonisation, the reduction of inequality or positively contributing to social justice issues.

They favour solutions that encourage participation and democratisation and deliver increasing resilience to climate and economic impacts. They always seek to understand and highlight the additional benefits such as improved health, reduced pollution and better livelihoods embodied in great applications.

Awards Information

• The winners will receive prize funds of £10,000 or £20,000 each;
• They expect to make at least 10 awards, seven with an international focus and three focused on the UK.

Award Areas

• Energy Innovation;
• Clean Air in Towns and Cities:
  • These awards are primarily for work in the UK. However, they will also consider work that is being carried out other countries, if the applicant aims to bring it to the UK market or is willing to see it replicated in the UK. In these cases, the purpose of the award would be to help the applicant raise their profile in the UK and bring their work here, and the prize would need to be spent in support of this goal.
• UK Sustainable Buildings:
  • Work submitted must be carried out in the UK. However, the applicant may be based outside the UK.
• Energy Access Policy, Planning & Finance;
• Energy Access Finance or Business Model Innovation;
• Sustainable Energy and Livelihoods:
  • These awards are focused on regions and communities which have previously had no access, or poor access, to energy (including both electricity and clean cooking). They expect work will be delivered, and/or the impact of their work to be made, in low-income and middle-income countries in the UN’s developing regions of Africa, Caribbean, Central America, South America, Asia and Oceania (but organisations may be registered elsewhere).
• Humanitarian Energy:
  • This award is for work in any area where there is a humanitarian need and access to clean energy is lacking.
• Natural Climate Solutions:
  • This award is for work in the Amazon, Congo Basin and South East Asian rainforest. They will also consider work that is being carried out elsewhere, if the applicant aims to bring it to one of these areas or is replicating it in these areas. In these cases, the purpose of the award would be to help the applicant raise their profile and replicate their work in these areas and the prize would need to be spent in support of this goal.
• Cool Cities:
  • This award is for work taking place anywhere globally but should have the potential for impact and for reaching people most vulnerable to extreme heat and heat stress.
• Sustainable Buildings (International);
• Sustainable Mobility:
  • These awards are primarily for work being delivered in low and middle income countries. However, they will also consider work that is being carried out globally, if the applicant aims to bring it to the low and middle income countries market or is replicating it in these areas. In these cases, the purpose of the award would be to help the applicant raise their profile in these areas and bring their work there, and the prize would need to be spent in support of this goal.

Benefits

The benefits of winning an Ashden Award include:

• Prestige of winning one of the world’s top sustainability awards. The rigour of  assessment process is well known to investors, policymakers, academics and other experts in the sustainable energy and climate change sector around the world;
• Membership of an alumni network of Ashden Award winners, which facilitates learning and opportunities to create productive partnerships;
• Opportunities to present  work to large and influential audiences at the Ashden Awards Ceremony and other Ashden events;
• The chance to have work profiled in regional, national, international and specialist media. Ashden’s communication team works to get winners exposure in newspapers and magazines, on television and radio, and on a wide range on online platforms. This continues long after the award ceremony – Ashden regularly secures coverage for winners months and even years after they win their award;
• Promotional material including photographs, print material and broadcast quality video for winners to use in their own marketing efforts;
• Where it can have a significant impact, tailored support from  programme team to grow or replicate  work: this can include professional mentoring, training, help raising finance and investment, and media and communications support;
• Where it can have significant impact, introductions to influential policy and decision makers, and an opportunity to make voice heard;
• They also seek to integrate UK based winners into Live able Cities programme of work, where they embed  winners’ approaches into policy and practice. They have recently published a climate action co-benefits toolkit for local authorities, featuring great case studies from  alumni which has been downloaded over 3,000 times. they run a network of city region sustainability lead officers, with regular meetings where they showcase winners’ solutions.
• Additionally, there is opportunity for  winners to participate in a programme of free masterclasses which help them to get to grips with a wide range of practical issues. This can be anything from customer experience, developing a communications strategy or getting investment ready.

Eligibility Criteria

• Businesses, NGOs, government organisations, and social enterprises (both for-profit and not-for profit, including community groups) are all eligible;
• Each award is limited to work in certain parts of the world;
• To be shortlisted and win an Award, all applicants must satisfy these eligibility criteria:
  • The applicant must have products, services or programmes currently available for customers, clients or beneficiaries;
  • The applicant must show an innovative approach to sustainable energy;
  • The applicant must be putting forward innovation with the potential to create significant impact;
  • The applicant must show good governance and management.

Judging Criteria

Eligible applications will be judged against the following general criteria, and any additional criteria specified in the application form:

• Radical decarbonisation
  • The applicant is contributing or has the potential to contribute to
    radically reducing carbon emissions before 2030, while recognising people’s right to a good quality of life.
• Reducing inequality
  • The applicant is contributing to a fair transition to a sustainable society, where nobody is left behind, and inequality is reduced.
• Participation and democratisation
  • The applicant’s work is participatory and inclusive, for example involving or consulting with the community, customers or beneficiaries. Where possible, democratic principles are applied in ownership, decision making and distribution of benefits.
• Resilience
  • The applicant’s work builds resilience to climate change impacts and economic shocks and is appropriate to the context it operates in.
• Additional benefits
  • The applicant’s work brings other benefits alongside decarbonisation, such as positive health and wellbeing outcomes, improved air quality, community cohesion or new and better jobs.

How to Apply

Interested applicants can apply online via given website.

For more information, please visit 2020 Ashden Awards.