Dutch Postcode Lottery Kicks Off Ninth Annual Postcode Lottery Green Challenge

AMSTERDAM, March 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dutch Postcode Lottery today announced the launch of the ninth annual Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, the largest international sustainable business plan competition that aims to promote a low carbon economy and a greener environment. U.S. and global entrepreneurs of all experience backgrounds are encouraged to submit creative business plans that directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The winner with the best plan will receive 500,000 euro (approximately $535,000 USD) to further develop the product or service and bring it to market within the next two years. In addition to the winning entry, the organization will also offer 200,000 euro (approximately $214,000 USD) to the first and second runners-up.

"The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge provides the most innovative and promising green entrepreneurs with the opportunity to really make a difference and help combat climate change," said Marieke van Schaik, managing director of the Dutch Postcode Lottery. "Since 1998, this annual competition has been an important global platform where individuals have the chance to not only bring their ideas to life, but also meet other visionaries that share their goals."

Entrants will be evaluated on how well they integrate Cradle2Cradle principles into their designs and explain the extensive development process that will maximize the impact of the product or service moving forward. Additionally, judges will also assess entries based on three factors: communication potential, courageousness, and creativity.  

The deadline for the competition is June 1 and entrepreneurs can submit their business plans online through www.greenchallenge.info. In July, the organization will announce 25 nominees who are in the running towards becoming a finalist. Five finalists will then be selected in August for the final round of the competition, where they will present their ideas in front of a selected audience and a panel of international judges during the grand final in Amsterdam on Sept. 10.

Previous Winners
In 2014, British entrepreneur Arthur Kay took home the main prize and won 500,000 euro with his green company Bio-bean. The start-up uses a patented process to upcycle waste coffee grounds into two advanced biofuel products, namely biodiesel and biomass pellets, that are used for powering buildings and transport systems.    

In 2013, American entrepreneur Ginger Dosier won the competition with her company BioMason. Through a revolutionary production process for bricks, BioMason offers a sustainable alternative to the current process, which is heavily polluted and responsible for gigatonnes of CO₂-emissions. 

For more information and photos, visit www.greenchallenge.info. Follow the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge on Twitter and Facebook.

About the Dutch Postcode Lottery - Society Always Wins
The Dutch Postcode Lottery was founded in 1989 to support charitable organizations. Today, 2.5 million people in the Netherlands play the lottery in order to stand the chance of winning a hundred thousand prizes. At the same time, these lottery participants support 92 charitable organizations with fifty percent of each lottery ticket. Since its founding, the Dutch Postcode Lottery has donated more than €4 billion to organizations working in the fields of human rights, nature and the environment.

Organizations the lottery supports include UNICEF, WWF, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders and Natuurmonumenten. As of 2005, the Postcode Lottery also operates in the United Kingdom and Sweden, where the People's Postcode Lottery and Svenska PostkodLotteriet respectively raise money for charity. In the Netherlands, the Dutch Postcode Lottery operates together with the BankGiro Loterij and the VriendenLoterij under the Goede Doelen Loterijen umbrella. Novamedia/Postcode Loterijen is the third largest private charitable donor in the world. www.postcodeloterij.nl

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SOURCE Postcode Lottery Green Challenge

Related Links

http://www.greenchallenge.info