A £75,000 fund || Call for Indian climate trailblazers- 2022 Ashden Awards

The 2022 Ashden Awards are calling for entries from Indian low carbon entrepreneurs and projects with a focus on ‘climate action at work’ accentuating green jobs and skills.

Climate solutions charity Ashden has invited climate trailblazers in India to apply for three international awards which will accelerate innovative climate solutions in the public, private and community sectors.

The entries are open to all, however, the awards particularly welcome entries from organisations led by or benefiting women.
The entries close on 15 March 2022, with the winners announced in late October. Entry is free and each winner will receive a grant of up to £25,000 (INR 25,25,850 or USD 33,345.62), while all finalists may be expected to benefit from publicity and networking opportunities – including connections to investors, funders and the media.

This year’s categories include ‘Energy access skills’, which will recognise the work of organisations training and upskilling workers to install clean energy systems; ‘Energising refugee livelihoods’, which will award organisations creating economic opportunities for refugees through access to clean energy, or boosting skills and training in this area; and ‘Energising agriculture’, which will seek out organisations doing exemplary work in decarbonising farming.

Entrants will be judged by expert panels on their ability to cut emissions, as well as their contribution to a fairer world. Award criteria will reward innovation that reduces inequality and transfers power to marginalised people.

Ashden CEO Harriet Lamb said: “This year Ashden will accelerate the frontline innovators delivering new green jobs and livelihoods or training people in low carbon projects. The Ashden Awards boost the most exciting innovators, but also highlight the big changes needed to drive progress across society.”

“We have had some outstanding Ashden Award winners from India in the past and really look forward to this year’s applicants”, said Lamb.

Two of last year’s six international Ashden Award winners were from India, including Mahila Housing Trust, which supports poor women in Indian cities to take up practical and affordable home cooling solutions, and Bharatiya Vikas Trust (BVT), which trains bank workers, to offer loans for sustainable energy, particularly to women customers.

Last year’s other global winners included the following:

• Mbou Mon Tour: for Cooling in Informal Settlements supported by the Clean Cooling Collaborative
• Solar Freeze: for Energy Access Innovation, supported by the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
• New Energy Nexus Uganda: for Regenerative Agriculture, supported by The DOEN Foundation
• YICE Uganda: for Green Communities, supported by Esmee Fairbairn
• The Welcoming: for UK Climate Innovation, supported by Impax Asset Management
• Kensa Group: for Green Skills, supported by Garfield Weston Foundation and Linkedin
• Carbon Co-op: for Energy Access Skills, supported by The Ashden Trust and Linkedin

Sudipta Ghosh, Principal Consultant, Bhartiya Vikas Trust, said: “The Ashden Award has brought BVT more visibility and helped us in building new partnerships across banks, government departments and funding partners. This has helped in broadening the impact of the work we are doing. It has also instilled a sense of pride amongst the employees by acknowledging their hard work of many years.”

“We urge all climate innovators to look at the application criteria and see if their initiative could be boosted by an Ashden Award”, said Lamb.