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Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development supports the development and deployment of clean energy innovations that increase agriculture productivity and stimulate low carbon economic growth in the agriculture sector of developing countries to help end extreme poverty and extreme hunger.
Leasing models for baby clothes, pedestrian and bike-friendly streets in a bustling Indian city, and solar-charging hearing aids are just some of the innovations shortlisted for the 2015 Sustainia Award.
What are the coolest sustainability innovations we’ve seen this year? Think tank Sustainia this week revealed the 10 contenders for the award, which honours groundbreaking sustainability solutions from all over the world.
The Finalists
- Buildings finalist: Archiblox (Australia) - energy-positive prefabricated houses.
- Food finalist: SunCulture (US) - solar-powered drip irrigation for smallholders.
- Fashion finalist: Vigga.us (Denmark) - leasing organic kids-wear.
- Transportation finalist: Corporation of Chennai, Institute for Transportation & Development Policy and Chennai City Connect Foundation (India) - designing streets for walking and biking.
- IT finalist: Mapdwell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US) - 3D solar potential mapping tool.
- Education finalist: Seoul Metropolitan Government (South Korea) - citizen engagement for voluntary behaviour change.
- Energy finalist: Mobisol (Germany) - micro-financed off-grid solar power.
- Health finalist: Solar Ear (Brazil) - solar-powered hearing aids with open source design.
- Cities finalist: City of Johannesburg (South Africa) - green bonds finance city climate action.
- Resources finalist: Plastic Bank (Canada) - turning plastic waste into a currency.
Winners to Be Announced at COP21
Former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger will lead Sustainia’s Award Committee, comprising a judging panel of sustainability heavyweights.
There’s also a people’s choice award. Voting is open now for the public’s favourite innovation. The winner will receive the Sustainia Community Award.
Both winners will be announced during COP21 in Paris, at the Sustainia Award Ceremony on 6 December, 2015. World Climate Ltd will join in hosting the event, which will bring together innovators and performers from around the world to celebrate solutions for a sustainable tomorrow.
With the newly ratified Sustainable Development Goals and the negotiations for a binding new climate agreement at COP21, these 10 sustainability solutions show how we can shift talk into action today. The innovations are already available, and will become even more important as the world is increasingly defined by climate change – no matter the outcome of COP21.
EDF will share its experience selling and installing off-grid solutions for residential customers and its knowledge of Central and West African markets."We’re excited, as this partnership gives us the opportunity to work with EDF to increase rural productivity,” said SunCulture's Samir Ibrahim.
Great news for SunCulture is also great news for smallholder farmers in Africa! SunCulture CEO Samir Ibrahim is looking forward to a productive partnership with the EDF Group, and to working together to increase rural household productivity across the African continent.
EDF's investment in SunCulture means increased sales capacity and expanded access to farmer credit in Kenya, and the ability to expand into West Africa. SunCulture's products have already saved almost two billion liters of water, and have increased farmers' incomes while cutting their costs.
