The Google.org Impact Challenge on Climate commits €10M to fund bold ideas that aim to use technology to accelerate Europe’s progress toward a greener, more resilient future. Selected organizations may receive up to €2M in funding and possible customized post-grant support from the Google for Startups Accelerator to help bring their ideas to life.
About the Challenge
At Google, we believe that when it comes to solving a problem as big and urgent as climate change, we get more done when we move together.
We want to support the work of nonprofits, experts, and organisations that will mitigate the impacts of climate change in Europe and beyond, and increase communities’ resilience to its effects. We are looking for ideas that address topics like increased access to or use of renewable energy, decarbonisation of transportation, improvements to air quality, natural resource planning and protection, and circular economy and design.
Applications for the Google.org Impact Challenge on Climate are now open.
Application criteria
- Ambition: Ideas should be transformational and address not only the change you seek for your organisation, but also articulate a vision for how the world will be different if you were to succeed at scale. While we do not expect your idea to reach millions of people or dozens of markets immediately, you should articulate a way it could ultimately do so.
- Impact: The proposed project should explain how and the extent to which it will tackle climate change and/or how it will support others to do so. Successful applications will be grounded in research and data about the problem, solution, and if locally-focussed, how many people will be affected.
- Technology at the core: Ideas should apply technology (e.g. software, hardware, chemical, electrical, biochemical) in an innovative and effective way by creating or enabling entirely new solutions and approaches. Applications can also propose innovative applications of existing technology.
- Accelerating a Green Recovery: As countries across Europe continue to respond to the economic and health impacts of COVID-19, there is a clear opportunity to build back better. We are interested in projects that can clearly articulate the potential co-benefits of their positive impact on climate change, such as job creation/retention, improved health outcomes, or other elements of economic and social recovery like the Just Transition and environmental justice.
- Feasibility: Successful proposals will have well-developed and realistic plans to execute. They will share how they have the team members, or appropriate partners and domain experts with the expertise and skills needed for implementation. Taking on big, scalable ideas with technology at their core is difficult, and we look for teams that are both strong and flexible enough to implement the proposed project.
How it Works
- Organisations apply: Organisations submit their proposals for projects that use technology to accelerate Europe’s progress to a greener, more resilient future.
- Grantees selected: Google.org, Climate-KIC, and our expert panel review and help Google select the top applicants as possible grantees.
- Grant funding and support: Each selected grantee receives funding (possible range between €250,000 and €2,000,000) and an invitation to participate in a Google for Startups Accelerator, announced no earlier than March 2021.
You could find more about this article to the website impactchallenge.withgoogle.com HERE