Do you have innovative ideas to create a more sustainable Sussex? If so, you could win up to £5,000 to bring your ideas to life.
Enter our Pitch for the Planet competition
Our annual Pitch for the Planet student innovation competition gives you the chance to win funding and a coveted spot in our Summer Accelerator programme to help you develop and implement your sustainability idea.
This year’s competition theme was Sustainable Sussex. Shortlisted teams pitched their ideas to a panel of expert judges and a live audience at our Pitch for the Planet event and two were selected to receive funding and incubation support.
Read more about Pitch for the Planet 2024 and look out for further details on ways to get involved in sustainability innovation in the 2024/25 academic year.
If you have any questions, email sustainable@sussex.ac.uk.
The prize
The University offered up to four prizes, each of up to £5,000, for the best proposals to maximise sustainability at our University and in the local community, in the following areas:
- Ethical Educators – embedding sustainability in student experience teaching and research
- Decarbonising the Economy – reducing carbon as we work to creating a net zero world
- Civic Leaders and Partners – supporting sustainability in the community, including sustainable travel, and supply chains
- Environmental Champions – creating responsible production and consumption in areas including food, water, waste and biodiversity.
See the Sustainability Strategy for more information on what is included in each category.
The winners of each prize (2023 winners pictured below) received up to £5,000 and a place on the University’s Summer Accelerator, taking place over six weeks in June and July 2024. The Accelerator takes place in the Student Centre and is supported by expert partners. The Accelerator provides a platform to launch and grow your venture, offering coaching, specialist advice, mentorship from founders, intern support and further funding opportunities, including an exciting demo day with investors.
This prize is sponsored by the Higher Education Innovation Fund.
Download the Pitch for the Planet T&Cs [PDF 195.60KB].
What we’re looking for
Winning entries are likely to meet three or more of the following additional criteria:
- make explicit link to one or more Sustainable Development Goals
- support at least one of the objectives within the new University Sustainability Strategy
- produce an economic and/or social benefit, alongside the environmental benefit it provides
- propose involvement and/or support from a local partner organization such as a social enterprise, business or charity
- lead to a lasting, viable, financial legacy – such as the creation of a student start-up company, trading enterprise or intellectual property licence.