Last Updated on June 8, 2022
After 5 successful editions of the Elsevier Foundation Green & Sustainable Chemistry Challenge and receiving thousands of proposals from around the world on innovative chemical science research that helps the environment and low-resource communities, The Elsevier Foundation is exploring a change of focus to the Challenge to Climate Action (SDG13).
Climate change is the most important challenge affecting the future of our planet and it is essential that we take action. Chemical sciences play a critical role in developing a sustainable future. UN Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action, underscores the need to promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.
With a new focus on Climate Action, the Challenge also supports SDG5, Gender Equality, recognizing the pivotal role that women play in combating climate change. Projects submitted to the Challenge must integrate a gender dimension (such as addressing the role of women in adapting to climate shifts and participating in policy-making and leadership roles) into their projects.
Prizes
- The winning projects will receive a prize of €25,000 each. The winners will be announced at a special event in October 2022.
Eligibility
- Open to individuals and organizations whose projects use green and sustainable chemistry solutions to tackle some of the developing world’s greatest sustainability challenges.
Evaluation Criteria
Projects will be reviewed according to the following criteria:
- The proposal clearly describes the urgency of the problem.
- The project utilizes innovative green and sustainable chemistry and chemical sciences approach.
- The project is replicable, scalable, sustainable (make sure to specify why), and sets a benchmark for innovation – new ideas or concepts in development will be given preference over more advanced projects.
- The proposal highlights the novelty of your approach and gives a short literature overview of what has been done before, both by you and others.
- The project is applicable in and suitable for developing countries. Describe the project’s social impact on local communities, including gender equality either in design or implementation.
- The project must have an impactful gender component, clearly describing the sex/gender dimensions of the research.
- Include an implementation plan of the project.
Application
The Elsevier Foundation Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge is articulated in the following phases.
- Submission phase: this is the general submission period. Proposals can be submitted from March 14 to July 14.
- Reviewing phase: out of all submitted proposals, the Top tier eligible proposals will be selected by a panel of reviewers and will be advanced to the judging phase.
- Judging phase: the scientific jury will evaluate the proposals and identify the finalists. The Top 5 finalists will be selected to compete for the two prizes and will be invited to present their proposal at a special event in October 2022.
Click here to submit proposals
For more information, visit Elsevier Foundation.
Deadline: July 14, 2022