Encouraging the green breed

According to a report published this week, more needs to be done to identify, encourage and support the entrepreneurs who are promising new ways to tackle climate change.

The report from the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts (NESTA), coincides with the launch of the organisation’s ‘Environment Challenge’, a £1m prize fund to inspire  novel approaches to carbon reduction .

‘The Disrupters’ report uses eight examples to illustrate the importance of innovation in the fight to reduce carbon levels. These stretch beyond the traditional expectation of new, energy-efficient technology to include new ways of owning energy assets, and new services to engage people in energy saving.

The report stresses the potential impact of these entrepreneurial approaches, showing how the eight it profiles alone promise savings equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted by 1.6 million homes. However, it argues that not enough is being done to ensure all this innovation has the widest possible effect.