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Tuesday, 08 March 2022
EPLO ISD Finalizes Nominations for The Earthshot Prize 2022
The search for the winners of The Earthshot Prize 2022 has concluded and the EPLO Institute for Sustainable Development as an official Nominator has submitted six nominations for the prestigious prize. As an Official Nominator, we are one of over 250 organisations from across the world, invited to submit nominations, selected for our ability to identify the most impactful solutions across all sectors, from grassroots to businesses.
Our six nominations cover a variety of geographies and solutions for the 5 Earthshotsfrom promising start-ups to academia and government initiatives and were selected using our ESG Verimpact Assessment tool to further promote sustainability and transparency.
Meet our Nominees (in alphabetical order):
Balloon Tech Co., a good machine company
Balloon Tech Co. is designed for wildfire detection and earth observation. We dramatically change the amount of time it takes to identify and respond to wildfires by transferring precise fire data from High Altitude Platforms (Balloons) to firefighters and first responders. Our technology reduces wildfire destruction to people and property by enabling more informed, timely decision-making on the ground. Ultimately, we also intend to leverage our experience to monitor marine protected areas and look for illegal logging/mining.
BLUECYCLE. Beyond marine plastic waste
BlueCycle is a Blue and Circular economy company implementing the first integrated programme in Europe focusing on the recycling of marine plastic waste generated by fishing and shipping activities through a holistic approach. Using cutting edge technology, BlueCycle produces high-quality plastic raw material and a series of high quality, traceable and circular products.
Concrete4Change
Concrete is the second most consumed material in the world (second only to water) and accounts for 8% of the global CO2e emissions. Concrete4Change Ltd. (C4C) to is developing a technology capable of sequestering significant amounts of CO2 in concrete. The sequestration of CO2 results in the strength enhancement of concrete; hence, reducing the amount of cement required to produce equivalent-strength concrete. This technology has the potential to mitigate 2 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of 4% of global CO2 emissions.
https://www.concrete4change.com/
CLIMPACT
The National Network for Climate Change – CLIMPACT, is a national forefront research network on Climate Change, currently consisting of 20 Hellenic scientific Institutions, for exploring in depth the scientific questions related to CC, developing scientific cooperation, selecting, calibrating and freely distributing climate data to relevant stakeholders while it also develops innovative tools and early warning systems and services regarding natural disasters (floods, forest fires, atmospheric pollution, etc.) to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the environment, the economy and the society.
ENALEIA - “Mediterranean Clean-Up”
Enaleia is a non-profit social enterprise tackling two directly related problems for the marine environment; the reduction of fish stocks and plastic marine pollution. According to Ellen MacArthur Foundation, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea, while the international maritime trade and fisheries industries account for 20% of the plastic entering the Mediterranean Sea each year as fishing gear (WWF Report - 2019). The “Mediterranean Clean-Up” project of Enaleia aspires to undertake an extensive clean-up in the Mediterranean region, utilizing the enlarged network of fishers. The marine plastic collected by fishers and the used fishing equipment is recycled and upcycled, being integrated into the circular economy. In this way, our project is aligned with three pillars: Education, Mitigation, and Prevention.
Greek National Reforestation Plan
In the context of the EU Forest Strategy for 2030, Greece is set to implement the National Reforestation Plan, the country ‘s largest ever reforestation program, over a 10-year period (2020-2030), with many ecological, environmental, economic and social benefits. Its overall cost is about 700 million euros, having secured about 200 million euros from the European Union Recovery Fund. The restoration will take place on 16.500 hectares in several degraded forest ecosystems across the country in an effort to address the country‘s environmental shortcomings. It seeks to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, preserve biodiversity and improve living conditions.
You can find out more about the Prize, our role as an Official Nominator, and the 5-stage process to selecting winners at www.earthshotprize.org