Mini Solar takes home the 2023 Sir Rupert Myers Sustainability Award

Team Mini Solar has taken home first place at the 2023 Sir Rupert Myers Sustainability Award.

The fourth Sir Rupert Myers Sustainability Award and Pitch Competition took place on Friday, August 4. With the generous support of the James N Kirby Foundation, this event proved to be a vibrant platform for UNSW staff, students, and alumni, showcasing innovative ideas aimed at addressing pressing environmental issues. Seven teams seized the opportunity to present their ideas and compete for a share of the $3,000 prize pool.
 
Congratulations to Mini Solar, a venture pitched by Stanley Tanudjaja, David Thirugnanaraj, and David Huang, whose efforts secured them the 2023 Sir Rupert Myers Sustainability Award and $2,500 in prize money to fuel the expansion of their startup. Meanwhile, the People’s Choice Award, voted by the audience, went to GreenCoat, earning co-founders Oliver Pang and Frances Xiao a $500 cash prize.

An esteemed panel of judges lent their expertise to challenge the pitching teams with questions as part of the award selection process. Among them were James Kirby, Director of the James N Kirby Foundation; Natalie Simmons, CEO and Founder of Barefoot Citizens; and Mark Rowland, Chief Collaboration Officer at Greenhouse. Making her charismatic debut as the event's MC was Eleni Assargiotis, UNSW Founders' Climate 10x Program Manager.

This year's event showcased an impressive lineup of teams that earned their spot in the pitch competition. These emerging sustainability startups, hailing from the UNSW community, exhibited a diverse range of solutions to global challenges.

·       Kindest: We frequently consider the impact of meat consumption by humans, but what about our pets? The pet food industry contributes to a mass quantity of water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Kindest offers sustainable and nutritious pet food alternatives.

·       GreenCoat: Modern day windows aren’t proving sufficient when it comes to energy efficiency and moderating room temperatures. GreenCoat is a next-gen plasma-coating smart window solution offering greener, smarter windows.

·       MiniSolar: MiniSolar offers a monitoring system for remote, disaster prone-areas that means earlier warnings when they arise, starting with bushfire management.

·       Powerblocks: Energy storage solutions that fit into your living space; increasing renewable energy usage and minimising raw material waste.

·       Eastrock: Empowering greener commutes through micro-mobility. Eastrock aims to improve the lives of drivers and public transport users by offering an affordable, convenient, and more flexible way to navigate urban areas.

·       FarmersCarbon: Connecting smallholder farmers to the carbon market, creating another income stream and helping them be part of the solution​.

·       Decarice: Decarice is retrofitting Internal Combustion Engines; giving them dual fuel capacity ​and enabling them to reduce 70%+ of C02 output through running on up to 90% hydrogen.

While the judges were deliberating, Sally Giblin, co-founder of Be The Future, and competitor in the 2022 Sir Rupert Myers competition, joined event host Victoria Tucker on stage for a fireside chat. Sally shared insights into her entrepreneurial journey and about her why behind starting Be The Future. She also spoke on how she uses ‘Edutainment’ to help kids turn their ‘eco overwhelm’ into playful action. You can find out more about the Be The Future including bite-size blogs to help you ‘Just Start’ with climate action, on their website.

Congratulations to all participants and winners of the Sir Rupert Myers Sustainability Award and Pitch Competition!

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