Solution Search Names 10 Breakthrough Climate Solutions as Finalists in Global Competition

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Solution Search, a global contest designed to identify, reward, and spotlight innovative environmental solutions, has released the list of its 10 finalists for the 2018-19 "Climate Change Needs Behavior Change" contest. This year's contest showcases innovative approaches to curbing climate change by changing consumers' behaviors. The contest is sponsored by Rare, Conservation International, National Geographic, The Nature Conservancy, United Nations Development Programme, and World Wildlife Fund.

A panel of experts from conservation, development, academia, advocacy, government and other professions narrowed a field of 200 entrants down to 10 based on entrants' proven success in shifting consumers toward behaviors that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The experts also considered the potential for scaling their solutions to achieve positive environmental, social and economic outcomes.

The 10 Solution Search Finalists are:

1 Million Women (Australia) - Growing a global social movement empowering women and girls to make lifestyle changes to reduce their carbon footprint.

Behaviour Innovation (Australia) - Inspiring sugar cane farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices that reduce water contamination and strengthen the climate resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.

Better Buying Lab, World Resources Institute (United Kingdom) - Sparking adoption of more plant-rich diets by helping food-service providers re-think how they design menus and present food options.

JouleBug (USA) - Conquering the "I don't know where to begin" problem with a mobile application that helps users take simple actions throughout their day to make climate-friendly decisions, fueled by friendly competition and social sharing.

Mediae Company - (United Kingdom/Kenya) Using the power of media and storytelling to encourage adoption of clean, efficient, low-energy cookstoves.

Northwest Earth Institute's EcoChallenge Platform (USA) - Gamifying community adoption of sustainable behaviors by allowing participants to meet challenges and interact with each other via an online platform.

RASAI (Pakistan) - Breaking down barriers to ride-sharing to reduce carbon emissions from cars, while offering affordable transportation options to commuters.

Solar Sister (USA/Nigeria/Tanzania/Uganda) - Empowering women entrepreneurs with the tools to earn a livelihood by delivering life-transforming clean energy access to underserved communities.

The Kasiisi Project (USA/Uganda) - Tapping into the potential of children to market and build fuel-efficient, low-emission cookstoves in order to inspire long-term adoption of sustainable behavior by their parents.

University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) - Restructuring the environments where food options are presented in order to encourage plant-based diets without the perception of limiting the consumers' choice.

The panel of Solution Search judges includes Charlotte Blank, Chief Behavioral Officer at Maritz; Varun Gauri, Senior Economist with the World Bank; Chris Graves, President & Founder of the Ogilvy Center for Behavioral Science; David Halpern, Head of the United Kingdom's Behavioural Insights Team; Brett Jenks, President and CEO of Rare; Gary E. Knell, CEO of National Geographic Partners; Aileen Lee, Chief Program Officer of the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation's Environmental Conservation Program; Anthony Leiserowitz, the Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication; Henry Paulson, former US Treasury Secretary; Carter Roberts, President and CEO of World Wildlife Fund; M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International; Mark Tercek, President and CEO of The Nature Conservancy; Kate Walsh, actor and environmental advocate; Elke Weber, Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, Princeton University; and Katharine Wilkinson, Vice President of Communication and Engagement at Project Drawdown.

Interested parties are invited to read and analyze the entries and ultimately vote for their favorite of the finalists at solutionsearch.org. Public voting begins on January 2, 2019 and ends January 31. Two grand prize winners will each receive $25,000 – one determined by popular vote and one by the judges. All finalists are invited to attend a workshop and awards ceremony at the 2019 BE.Hive Behavior Change Summit at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC, USA alongside some of the biggest names in behavioral science, conservation, business, development and the arts.

This is the fifth Solution Search contest. Rare, in conjunction with other partners, facilitated the previous contests, Turning the Tide for Coastal Fisheries, Adapting to a Changing Environment, Reducing our Risk and Farming for Biodiversity.

Learn more at solutionsearch.org.

SOURCE Solution Search