ClimateLaunchpad: We pitch in for the planet

Big change starts with brave ideas. If you have an idea for the climate, you’re in the right place.

No matter who you are or where you come from, ClimateLaunchpad will help you take the first steps to shape your green or sustainable idea into a business, build a plan, craft a compelling pitch, and turn early vision into real-world impact.

Why join ClimateLaunchpad?

  • 🌍 The world’s largest green business ideas competition

  • 🚀 Running every year since 2014

  • 💡 18,000+ ideas submitted by innovators just like you

  • 🌱 5,400+ teams supported worldwide to develop and grow their ventures

Your idea belongs here. Let’s build it together.

How it works

ClimateLaunchpad is built for early-stage climate innovators, especially if you’re at the idea or concept stage.

No company yet? No funding? No finished product? No problem. If you have a climate solution you want to explore, this is where you start.

Our free programme guides you step-by-step through the fundamentals of building and testing a climate venture, in a supportive, global community designed for first-time founders.

What you can expect

  • Free to join, there are no programme fees

  • No equity taken, you stay 100% in control

  • You keep full ownership of your ideas and intellectual property

  • Hands-on boot camp training and expert coaching

  • Opportunities to pitch and gain visibility at National, Regional and Global Finals

  • Access to a global community of climate innovators and like-minded individuals

Curious what the journey looks like? Explore the programme pathway below and see where it could take you.

The programme

Step 0 – Start Learning

Mini-course

After you apply, you’ll unlock our online climate entrepreneurship course covering climate basics, systems thinking, and entrepreneurial mindset.

What you’ll gain

  • Self-directed micro-learning on climate innovation

  • Practical tools to shape your idea

  • Skills you can use for any future venture
Step 1 – Build your idea

Boot Camp

Selected teams join an interactive virtual boot camp with expert trainers to strengthen their idea, business model, and pitch.

What you’ll gain

  • Live training sessions with our experts

  • Practical tools to improve your venture

  • Clear next steps forward

Step 2 – test and refine

Follow-up coaching and National Finals

You’ll receive targeted coaching to test assumptions, refine your story, and prepare to pitch.

What you’ll gain

  • Expert feedback and coaching

  • Pitch readiness

  • A chance to win a ticket to our Global Grand Final event

Step 3 – compete internationally

Regional Finals

The Top-3 teams from each country advance to pitch online against the strongest start-ups across Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

The Top-2 per region move on.

What you’ll gain

  • International pitching experience

  • Exposure to global audiences and networks

  • Feedback from expert juries

  • A chance to pitch at the Global Grand Final

Step 4 – The global stage

Global Grand Final

We bring together our worldwide community of climate innovators, including National Final winners and top regional teams, to celebrate bold ideas and breakthrough solutions.

What you’ll gain

  • A place in a global climate innovation community

  • International visibility and connections

  • Experience pitching on a world stage

Final Round

The global top-8 pitch live for cash prizes in front of an international jury.

The ClimateLaunchpad 2026 Global Grand Final takes place in Singapore.

Themes

8 competition themes

We work with eight competition themes, representing a selection of the most pressing and relevant focus areas of our time in our fight against climate change.

This ensures that ideas are judged equally against their peers by industry experts, ensuring that the best of the best rise to the top.

The selected themes for this year:

    1. Adaptation & Resilience
    2. Blue Economy
    3. Circular Economies
    4. Clean Energy
    5. Food Systems
    6. Sustainable Mobility
    7. Urban Solutions
    8. The Next Big Thing
The Fineprint

Let us challenge you, join the competition.

But before you do, we just want to make sure that you:

  • have not yet started a business or you started it less than two years ago
  • have no substantial revenue
  • you have attracted no more than € 200,000 in investment

For more information, please check our FAQ

Check our FAQ

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