Climate response

Creating innovations that help tackle the climate crisis

Creating innovations that help tackle the climate crisis

The global climate crisis is one of the defining challenges of our time, yet our current pace of problem-solving is too slow. Climate change is a systemic crisis that spans borders and industries, affecting everything from food security and water scarcity to public health and energy stability. Rather than allowing siloed approaches to slow us down, we use challenge prizes to break down walls between sectors, sparking a new era of radical collaboration to protect our planet. By stepping away from isolated problem-solving and embracing system-level thinking, we ensure that breakthroughs and climate innovations are accelerated and purposefully directed to enhance global resilience and adaptation.

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Take a look at some of the prizes we’ve run in this area

Water Discovery Challenge 2

The Water Discovery Challenge (Discovery) is a £7.5 million competition to accelerate the development and adoption of promising new innovations for the water sector to benefit customers, communities and the environment.

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A selection of berries in plastic containers|A ground level shot of a brown soil path through rows of green plants

Homegrown Innovation Challenge

The Homegrown Innovation Challenge is a six-year, $33-million prize which aims to identify teams and support the development of tools and technologies that enable Canadian farmers and producers to sustainably and competitively grow berries out of season.

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Old plastic washed up on a beach with volunteers collecting in the background|

Mombasa Plastics Prize

The Mombasa Plastics Prize aimed to encourage innovation and awareness of the plastic waste problem among youth innovators in Mombasa County, by inspiring the development of solutions that tackle the issue of marine plastic waste mismanagement, especially within informal settlements.

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Our impact

£600 million 10-year fund backing 100+ environmental projects

Delivered in partnership with Ofwat, the Water Innovation Fund has invested over £190 million across 109 transformative initiatives involving nearly 300 cross-sector partners to eliminate leakage, protect rivers, and decarbonise UK water infrastructure.

£4.4 million deployed to prevent marine plastic pollution

Supported by the Government of Canada, the Afri-Plastics Challenge backed 35+ enterprises and community projects across sub-Saharan Africa, scaling circular packaging, plant-based alternatives, and local recycling networks while empowering women across the waste value chain.

$33 million invested in sustainable food security

Funded by the Weston Family Foundation, the Homegrown Innovation Challenge awarded grants across 15 innovator teams to pioneer energy-efficient, out-of-season farming systems, tackling climate-vulnerable supply chains and reducing dependence on food imports.

Learn more about our impact

David Black, CEO, Ofwat

Water Innovation Fund

"Water underpins our society and economy, and the water sector faces a range of challenges requiring urgent solutions. The Ofwat Innovation Fund was established to incentivise the water sector to collaborate with partners across industry, charities, and academia to accelerate the pace of transformation and create lasting benefits for customers and the environment."

Thomas Schuurmans, Proportion Global

Afri-Plastics Challenge

"Our partnership with Challenge Works on the Afri-Plastics Challenge revealed much more than a one-winner scenario. Challenge Works is at the forefront of employing human-centered design (HCD) for impactful programs. They inspire the development sector by showcasing how HCD nurtures a profound understanding of societal issues, ignites innovative ideas and enables iterative learning cycles for everyone involved – and how to use that to build sustainable change."

Dr. Jo Jolly, Director of Innovation, Ofwat

Water Innovation Fund

"With our rapidly changing climate, it is more vital than ever that we double down on our efforts to create a water system able to support lives and livelihoods… In opening our doors to innovators outside the water sector, we have invited fresh perspectives to tackle head-on some of our greatest challenges."