Discover previous winning solutions

Please note, not all solutions presented here match the 2026 prize tracks

2025 winner

Sponge City,
The University of Edinburgh
 

Sponge City seeks to unlock capital flows towards adaptation through Climate Resilience Credits, a market-based mechanism to fund flood resilience infrastructure in the Philippines.  

 This solution combines Low Impact Development infrastructure, precise flood reduction measurement, and a voluntary Resilience Credit market.  

The innovative financing mechanism developed is a blended investment vehicle funded by sovereign stakeholders (85%) and insurers (15%), projected to unlock $397mn annually for resilience projects. These projects can generate Resilience Credits which businesses can purchase to offset insurance premiums and receive tax benefits. 

2024 winners

Climshield, Imperial College London 

ClimShield's value proposition aims to contribute to the $212 billion needed annually for adaptation finance by 2030 in developing countries, supporting global efforts toward climate resilience. 

ClimShield’s approach focuses on scaling parametric insurance using affordable premiums and blended finance strategies. 

CLIMATESAFE, Imperial College London 

CLIMATESAFE proposes a three-part approach to flood insurance, firstly providing pre-emptive finance to retrofit high-risk homes, secondly utilising data analytics to measure the effectiveness of their adaptation measures and thirdly, making comprehensive insurance available to all high-risk properties. 

MIARO, Alliance Business School Manchester and University of Newcastle 

MIARO is a blended microinsurance initiative, which, unlike traditional insurance, funds local risk reduction projects, reducing insurance costs whilst increasing the financial resilience of local communities in emerging markets. 


Some of our 2023 winners

Green Peat Capital,

Imperial College London 

This blended finance solution enables peatland farmers to diversify traditional agricultural revenue streams into ‘paludiculture’ products, unlocking carbon markets potential. 


Climate Kick,   

London Business School

This fintech start-up promotes the use of financial tokenization to facilitate smaller ticket investments into green assets for institutional investors and cryptocurrency deposit holders. 


Watch previous finalists’ pitches

CoFarm Capital,Imperial College London (Winner 2021)

Solar REIT, Nanyang Technological University (Finalist 2021 )


Sustainable Timber REIT, The University of Cambridge (Finalist 2020)