Frequently Asked Questions

Entering the competition - is my group eligible?

The Big Green Challenge from NESTA is open to not-for-profit groups / organisations, and you will need to prove that you fulfil this requirement before you are accepted as a finalist. You do not need to be formally constituted as a not-for-profit group for the initial application stage, so you may consider forming a new group to compete for the prize, if no suitable group exists at present.

You can be a local, national or even internet-based group. Examples of eligible groups include community co-operatives or clubs, charities, voluntary groups, parish councils and larger not-for-profit organisations. As long as you are formally constituted as a not-for-profit organisation by the end of Stage 2, you may be considered when selecting the finalists.

Entering the competition - what is ‘not-for-profit’?

By not-for-profit, NESTA means an organisation whose primary objective is to support an issue or matter of public interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes, and which is not capable of distributing profits. This definition also includes enterprises that do not have defined ownership interests which can be sold or transferred, and which operate entirely for social or community benefit.

Entering the competition - is my school / university eligible?

Some organisations with a connection to a school or university will be eligible to apply as entrants - such as a school PTA, or a charity associated with or run by a school or university. But schools and universities that are not registered charities will not normally be eligible to apply themselves.

Of course, we welcome the participation of schools and universities as part of applicants’ wider communities.

Entering the competition - what is a community?

We are expecting the types of communities involved in the Big Green Challenge to vary - both in size and what brings them together - eg. friendship, culture, faith, ethnicity, political commitment, colleagues or leisure interests. These communities may be based around your local area or equally may be spread across large areas. For a formal definition of ‘community’ and for further ideas please visit the Community Development Foundation website.

We want you to define your own community as part of the Challenge. This is to encourage groups or organisations to think creatively about innovative ways of approaching this Challenge. We expect communities to be defined differently by each entrant, and it is likely that the size and nature of each community may vary considerably, lending themselves to different approaches. Regardless of how you define your ‘community’, however, the criteria for the Big Green Challenge will remain the same.

Remember - the definition of community is more than just the people who are members of the community. It needs to include how that community uses energy (so that any reduction in CO2 emissions can be measured). So, you will need to consider and potentially include the activities, people, buildings and equipment that are used by, and are part of, that community.

Entering the competition - what is the difference between a ‘group’ and a ‘community’?

In general, the applicant will be a formally defined not-for-profit group or organisation. This applicant group will need to define the wider ‘community’ they are part of or will work with during the Challenge. The applicant group will have an approach to reducing CO2 emissions that will need to involve and engage their community.

Entering the competition - what do groups or organisations need to consider when defining a community?

For Stage 1, you will need to briefly describe the community you will work with, but you do not need to have detailed plans regarding the definition of your community at this stage. However, it would make sense to start involving and engaging with your community as early as possible in the application. Bear in mind, that it is the community’s energy use, as well as the group’s, that will be measured.

If you are selected for Stage 2 you will need to be very clear in your application for the final stage as to what you do and do not consider to be part of your community. We will need to approve both your definition and how you will measure the energy use of that community. Your actions must consider and potentially include the activities, people, buildings and equipment that are used by and are part of that community.
If you’re still not clear, you can contact us through the regional offices of our partner UnLtd. We’ll also publish inspirational case studies and further suggestions on our blog to help you.

Do projects have to be UK based?
Yes, your group/organisation and community need to be proven to be UK-based. If you are part of a virtual organisation which reaches a wider geographical audience, you will need to prove that the group/organisation working on the application, and the core community you are working with, are UK-based. You can involve people and communities from outside of the UK in your project, but the community that is the focus of your application must be UK based.
Entering the competition - how do I find out more?

If you have questions about the application process please contact admin@biggreenchallenge.org.uk

Taking part - what should I do now?

Firstly, make sure you’re kept up to date with news and information about the Big Green Challenge by signing up to receive our email updates.

Next, start thinking about the groups and organisations you could apply through or on behalf of. Are any of these eligible and keen on competing? What community do you want to involve? Try getting your group or organisation and the wider community together - talk things through and start planning your application.

Taking part - what is the timetable?

November – December 2007: Regional events take place to promote the Big Green Challenge.
January 2008: Stage 1 application form goes live on this website.
11:59pm, 3 March 2008: Deadline for submission of Stage 1 application forms.
Early Spring 2008: Stage 1 ‘winners’ announced and invited to develop their plans for Stage 2.
Late Spring 2008: Deadline for submission of Stage 2 detailed plans.
Summer 2008: Stage 2 winners (the ‘finalists’) are announced.
October 2008 – October 2009: Stage 3 finalists implement their solutions, which are measured and audited throughout the year.
November 2009: Winner and runners up announced.

Taking part - what support is available to applicants?

If you have questions or need advice on how to prepare an application, you can contact one of the regional offices of our partner UnLtd. You will also find inspiring case studies and useful links appearing on this website over the next few months.

If invited to develop a detailed proposal at Stage 2, we will provide further advice and guidance through a series of regional workshops and surgeries hosted by UnLtd.

More in-depth advice, support and potential funding of up to £20k will be available to finalists on a case-by-case basis. The exact support available will be tailored to the needs of the finalist and their ideas. This support will not be taken from the £1m prize fund.

Carbon reduction experts CRed will be contributing to the workshops and providing advice to the finalists on their carbon monitoring.

Taking part - how does my group win?

The prize fund will reward not-for-profit groups or organisations who can achieve, through innovative ideas, measurable reductions in their CO2 emissions in their communities.

Finalists will be given a year to implement their solutions and demonstrate how far they can get towards, or even go beyond, a 60% cut in CO2 emissions in their community.

The winning group or organisation will have:

  • achieved significant reductions in CO2 emissions in their community;
  • proved that their ideas worked in involving and engaging their community;
  • convinced us that their approach will carry on working after the Challenge is over;
  • shown potential that their solution may also work in other communities, at a greater scale or in a different context;
  • demonstrated their capacity to innovate.
Taking part - what happens to the ideas that don’t make it to the final stages of the competition?
We will promote the promising ideas that don’t make it through to the final, and we are looking at ways to bring some of the Big Green Challenge applicants together to share ideas.

We are also keeping other funders and organisations, who might be interested in some of the ideas coming through the Big Green Challenge, up-dated about the progress of the Big Green Challenge competition.

Judging - who decides on the prize winners?

We are bringing together a high-profile panel of judges, whose combined expertise will cover climate change issues, community action, and innovation.

The judges decision will also be informed by reports from our carbon audit team (Cred) to ensure that carbon savings achieved by finalists are measured as accurately as possible.

Judging - what do you mean by innovation?

We want to encourage fresh thinking about the way we live our lives, in order to find new and better ways to tackle climate change. This might involve coming up with a brand new idea, it might involve combining things in a new way, or finding new ways of making existing solutions work better. We look at innovation very widely. The best innovations need not be technical or scientific – they might involve re-organising processes or the way people interact for example.

The prize fund - when will winners receive their prizes?

We expect that winners will receive their prizes as one-off payments after the announcement of winners. However, each winning group’s circumstances will be discussed before this is finalised.

The prize fund - will the £1 million go to one group?

We expect the majority of the prize fund to go to an overall winner, depending on performance against our criteria.

Ideas will be scored against each of the five judging criteria. The judging criteria will each have equal weighting.

The prize fund - what can it be used for?

This is a prize so we don’t want to put too many restrictions on what the winners can do with it. At the same time the winners must satisfy us that the money will be spent appropriately for the benefit of their whole community.

The prize fund - will there be a finalist from each of the 10 regions?
The top 10 applicants from stage 2 will be chosen as finalists, regardless of where in the UK they are based.
General - what is meant by carbon saving?

When we use energy – switching on heating or lights, driving cars, or even eating food, somewhere carbon burns to become carbon dioxide (often written as CO2). For example, CO2 can come from the coal or gas burnt in powerstations, the petrol in your car, from making the fertiliser used to grow your food and from the lorries transporting it.

This carbon dioxide from people ‘doing things’ is one of the causes of climate change. Carbon dioxide traps heat from the Sun and so average temperatures rise as the concentration of carbon dioxide increases. So to reduce the effects of climate change in the future, we need to produce less carbon dioxide – to ‘use less carbon’.

Some types of ‘carbon savings’ are easy to measure – eg. using your gas and electricity meter readings will show how much of these you use. Carbon savings that are less direct – eg. from car-sharing or composting – are more challenging to measure. During the prize we will work with experts to offer advice to competitors on ways to measure different types of carbon savings.

Do we emit CO2?
Yes. The amount of CO2 you emit depends on your lifestyle, for example:

  • The size and type of your house
  • How you heat your house and water.
  • Your household appliances. How often you use them, and how much energy they use.
  • Your behaviour. Do you leave lights on in an empty room, or fill the kettle when you only need water for one cup?
  • The transport you use. The type of car and the distance you drive it. Whether you use of public transport and/or walk, the number of flights you take etc.
  • The products and services you buy for example, buying fruit and vegetables that have been flown in from other countries.

There are many factors in your everyday life that contribute to your CO2 emissions. Your total CO2 emissions is often referred to as your carbon footprint.

How can we reduce our CO2 emissions?

Before starting to reduce your CO2 emissions it is a good idea to be aware of where they come from - your baseline emissions. This will enable you to pinpoint areas where reductions will be particularly effective.

CO2 reductions can come from simple changes in behaviour or from new creative and innovative ideas. This might involve coming up with a brand new idea, it might involve combining things in a new way, or finding new ways of making existing solutions work better. We look at innovation very widely. The best innovations need not be technical or scientific – they might involve re-organising how people do things, for example.

General - what is the potential for CO2 reduction?
There is enormous potential for CO2 reduction in your community. Transforming intentions to reduce CO2 emissions into significant actual savings can be achieved through planning, organisation and community participation. During the Big Green Challenge we want applicants to think about a target of a 60% reduction. This may be the target set for 2050 for CO2 reductions in the UK by the Climate Change Bill that is now before Parliament.
How does community innovation give measurable reductions in CO2 emissions?

Comparing your CO2 emissions before and after your community innovates you will be able to measure the reductions you’ve achieved.

You’ll get advice and support throughout the Big Green Challenge about how to measure and record your baseline emissions and your CO2 reductions.

Depending on your project, data collection may include:

  • Actual electricity and gas meter readings, receipts for fuels used e.g. coal, wood, bottled gas.
  • Travel records, fuel receipts, car sharing, recording of long-distance travel. Travel diaries e.g. for public transport, cycling etc.
  • Record of behaviour changes instigated e.g. walking buses to school etc
  • Food e.g. locally grown food, home composting etc.
General - how is this different from other climate change initiatives?

The Big Green Challenge from NESTA is focussed on both innovation and grass-roots social action. It is unique in its focus on innovative responses from not-for-profit groups working with communities, and is the only large prize fund set up to encourage this.

The Big Green Challenge is also distinct from ‘traditional’ grant schemes, in that it is a prize that rewards actual CO2 reduction, and not just the intention to reduce emissions.

We are also working closely with other organisations, from government and beyond, who are working to either stimulate innovation or encourage action in response to climate change. We aim to ensure that:

  • we do not replicate what they have already done;
  • we build on their work; and
  • we make a positive influence on their future plans.

Authors

Green Angels

NESTA

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