In Germany, for the second year in a row, Covestro is a partner of the global Carbon Footprint Challenge, an international business idea competition supported by leading global companies from different industries such as Bühler, Evonik and Oracle as well as by nine top European universities connected to the Unitech network. The challenge invites students and young professionals from all over the world to share ideas to fight climate change on an open innovation online platform.
“The chemical industry in particular needs to become even more sustainable and is looking for fresh ideas. We don’t develop them on our own – therefore, we rely on the best minds bringing in open-mindedness and ingenuity”, says Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro.
Until July, the online innovation portal http://carbonfootprintchallenge.org is open for individuals and teams contributing ideas that can decrease carbon footprint of manufacturing, industrial processes as well as for products throughout their entire value chain. There is no need to deliver fully elaborated business plans or ready prototypes. Fields of interest are among others process efficiency, sustainable energy sources and raw materials as well as carbon sequestration technologies.
In summer follows the second stage of the challenge when the ideas will be developed and shaped for their future markets and applications. The innovation platform enables interaction between the teams and the community with support from the industry partners and the leading European universities.
On 6th and 7th September, the Carbon Footprint Challenge invites the top five teams to Zurich, Switzerland, for a pitch in front of the jury. The winning team will be rewarded with up to CHF 10,000 to support the realization of the idea.