The Call for Applications for the 2022-23 Adams Sustainability Innovation Prize Competition is now open! The deadline is November 30, 2022. Find the 2022-23 call for applications and application form here.
The 2021-2022 Adams Sustainability Innovation Prize Competition ran from
February – April 2022
Thank you to all of our Innovation Prize Competition participants, contestants, and judges for the 2022 Competition!
For the 2022 competition, eligibility requirements for contestants were as follows:
- The team has at least one founder who is a current U of T student, post doc or a recent alum (i.e. graduated no earlier than July 2018).
- Open to all faculties and sectors across the tri-campus.
- If the team is a start-up company, applicants must have less than $25,000 cumulative funding or investment (not including research grants), and less than $25,000 cumulative revenue as of December, 2021.
- Entrants must be able to present their pitch to a panel of judges on March 31, 2022.
- View the full 2022 Call for Applications here.
Watch the March 31, 2022 Award Ceremony & Innovation Pitch Prize Competition
Meet the 2022 Adams Sustainability Innovation Prize Competition winners!
1st Place Winner – MealCare
Prize: $10,000
MealCare is an organization that decreases food waste by diverting surplus edible food and delivering it to food aid partners across Canada. We provide a sustainable, scalable, and low-cost solution that is making the food system more efficient
2nd Place Winner – Arbre
Prize: $7,500
Arbre is a sustainable sun care brand on a mission to create inclusive and innovative sun protection products. Our debut product is a mineral-based powder dry shampoo with SPF for the scalp.Learn more at:
3rd Place Winner – Yayra-Si Youth Foundation
Prize: $5,000
Yayra-Si Youth Foundation (YSYF)‘s Banana Fiber Bags, which are manufactured almost entirely from naturally abundant banana and plantain fibers, are a sustainable alternative to plastic bags in Ghana. These products will reduce plastic waste and fatal flooding, economically empower women in rural communities, and increase public environmental health awareness.
Runner-up Winners:
BioBlends
Prize: $1,000
BioBlends Diesel Solutions recycles waste products from the local community into usable renewable fuels for diesel powered engines, creating a circular economy that promotes environmentally friendlier fuel alternatives for local farmers at below market diesel prices.
Lente Marketplace
Prize: $1,000
48% of Canadian consumers are unsure where to find sustainable apparel. Lente, the novel sustainable apparel marketplace, solves this issue by aggregating sustainable-certified brands and their clothing into one usable interface for consumers to browse and shop.
Reper Technologies
Prize: $1,000
Reper Technologies regenerates post-consumer plastic waste into polyethylene precursors. They provide waste collectors with landfill alternatives for contaminated plastic waste and plastics manufacturers with recycled material identical to virgin plastics.
Thank you to all of our Adams Sustainability Innovation Prize Competition participants, contestants, and judges for the 2020-2021 Competition!
For the 2020 competition, eligibility requirements for contestants were as follows:
- The team has at least one founder who is a current U of T student, post doc or a recent alum (i.e. graduated no earlier than July 2018).
- Open to all faculties and sectors across the tri-campus.
- If the team is a start-up company, applicants must have less than $25,000 cumulative funding or investment (not including research grants), and less than $25,000 cumulative revenue as of September, 2020.
- Entrants must be able to present their pitch to a panel of judges in January of 2021.
Meet the 2020 Adams Sustainability Innovation Prize Competition winners!
1st Place Winner – ALT TEX
Prize: $10,000
ALT TEX is a Toronto-based biomaterials startup, creating biodegradable and carbon neutral textiles re-engineered from food waste. ALT TEX’s highly scalable solution offers polyester-like performance, enabling brands to offer sustainable solutions without sacrificing quality.
2nd Place Winner – HOPE Pet Food
Prize: $7,500
HOPE is a meat-free sustainable pet food. Their innovative formulas go beyond plants and include ingredients across the tree of life such as insects, algae, yeast. They are guided by science and kindness to provide exceptional nutrition without breaking the planet.
3rd Place Winner – Polaris.AI
Prize: $5,000
Polaris AI promotes a better public transit experience for everyone. It is an AI-powered engine that enables transit agencies to identify and communicate service delays efficiently, thus allowing riders to plan their trips more accurately.
Runner-up Winners:
Yayra-Si Youth Foundation
Prize: $1,000
Yayra-Si Youth Foundation (YSYF)‘s Banana Fiber Bags, which are manufactured almost entirely from naturally abundant banana and plantain fibers, are a sustainable alternative to plastic bags in Ghana. These products will reduce plastic waste and fatal flooding, economically empower women in rural communities, and increase public environmental health awareness.
IOBO
Prize: $1,000
IOBO is building the most efficient supply network for drinking water by making bottles smarter through proprietary technology. IOBO-enabled containers provide reliable and accurate data that dramatically reduces operational costs for water companies.
Fyyne
Prize: $1,000
Fyyne is a mobile-first platform that allows beauty artists to run their businesses more effectively and efficiently. We use our proprietary technology to connect relevant artists with customers, and simplify the entire booking process from discovery to payment.