Could your business or idea help address the climate and ecological crisis? BU has partnered with Santander to bring you funding and support to launch or grow your idea.
What’s the fund?
Achieving a net zero emissions future is only achievable through a multi-layered approach of innovation, education and communication. To drive innovation, BU have partnered with Santander to support the next generation of eco-entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to reality or grow their businesses.
- Do you have a business or an idea with an environmental benefit? This could be anything from a product that can help reduce emissions or a business that helps people connect to nature.
- Are you passionate enough to make it a reality or grow it to the next level?
- Are you a BU current student or within 3 years of your graduation from BU?
- Is your idea well thought through, viable and have the potential to make a difference to an environment or climate problem?
If so, you are invited to apply for the Eco Entrepreneur Fund and win up to £5000 towards your business or idea.
Shortlisted entrants will get the opportunity to present their business or idea to judges who have been on the same journey and are working on ideas which will help address environmental problems. Several of our judges and mentors are part of the Nature Health Network which brings together a wide range of organisations to bring innovation in nature-based learning and health solutions. The Bournemouth University Social Entrepreneurs Forum (BUSEF) will provide you a mentor to develop your idea if you are successful.
How do you apply?
Applications are now open and close on Monday 7 March 2022. To be in with a chance of winning funding, please apply here. If you have any questions, please contact BU Sustainability Team at [email protected].
Why should you apply?
Climate change is recognised as the most important issue facing our planet today. In August 2021, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed that there is “unequivocal evidence of a world that has warmed” and a great urgency to transition to net zero emissions to achieve the Paris Agreement target of keeping increases in average global temperatures below 2°C and ideally below 1.5°C. COP26, the international climate conference which recently happened in Glasgow, is deemed our “last best chance” to take action and recognises the need for urgent, collaborative action.
BU is ranked 2nd in the UK in the THE Impact Awards 2021 for our contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: Climate Action, and our Climate and Ecological Crisis Action Plan (CECAP) lays out our commitment to achieving net zero emissions across all of our operations by 2030/31.
In order to reduce our carbon emissions and reach net zero emissions we need innovation, creativity and partnership to make progress. The BU Eco Entrepreneurs Fund could help you make a big impact.
