The prize-winning teams of students were announced at the end of this year’s LEC.201 eco-innovation module, which challenges second year undergraduate students from across Lancaster Environment Centre to develop a product, practice or service that delivers environmental and/or societal benefits in an economically viable way.

Over the course of the 10-week module – led by Professor of Sustainability, Jess Davies - students explore the complexity of sustainability issues, the ways eco-innovations attempt to address these, and key business model concepts, while learning hands-on by developing their own eco-innovative idea and business plan with support from our excellent Enterprise and Business Team. This year’s eco-innovations included a diverse range of local and international solutions aimed at generating clean energy, reducing waste, reducing water pollution, increasing agricultural resilience and sustainability, and delivering sustainable transport.

The students pitched their final ideas in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style session to Colin Curtis, Managing Director of sustainability advisory business, TBL, Xanthe Quayle, founder of an award-winning landscape architect practice, and Scott Barker, LUSU Green Coordinator. Following the pitches, two awards, sponsored by the panel were given to recognise the student’s initiative, with trophies made from 100% recycled plastic by a Lancaster alumni-led initiative, Relic Plastic.

Commenting on this year’s Dragon’s Den, Colin Curtis said, "I was blown away by not only the innovative ideas the students came up with, but also their teamwork, the quality of their pitches, and their understanding of how these could be commercialised. Our future really is in good hands!"

Xanthe Quayle, Dragon for the day said, “Being a resident company on campus for over two years this was a great opportunity to finally engage with the students. I was blown away by the effort and creativity that all teams had put in to properly highlighting and the finding solutions for the pressing issues of our time. Well done All!”.

The Most Innovative Idea award, sponsored by TBL, went to POWER (Progressive Opportunities for Women: Empowering Refuge), developed by Luke Fitton, Oliver Kains, Hope Myers and Charlotte Nicholson. Their project focused on improving access to safe transport and education for women in Nigeria. The team proposed a new women-only bus service, tailored to provide safety and accommodate the specific needs of women travelling with children, whilst supporting educational opportunities and other services that empower women. The panel were impressed with how the team had identified an elegant and potentially impactful solution to an important societal problem.

“I enjoyed working in a team to address different complex global issues by applying ambitious problem-solving and developing ideas into a detailed solution with potential for implementation”, said Charlotte Nicholson from team POWER. “The practical side of the module including presenting our idea for positive social change was rewarding”.

Dr Chris Holroyd, the winning team’s mentor said, “It’s fantastic to see the variety of environmental business ideas the students come up with each year, how these evolve over only a few weeks using the business model canvas and quickly coalesce through all the teams’ hard work into impressive funding pitches. POWER did this mostly by themselves, with only a few suggestions from me. Well done!”.

The Best Team Pitch award, sponsored by Xanthe Quayle Landscape Architects was presented to SOLARIS, created by Alex Coffey, Olaia Fergusson Biurrun, Torin Magliocco-Hodgkiss and Jess Williamson. Their concept addressed the issue of heatwaves and urban heat islanding in Mediterranean cities through the use of energy-generating solar canopies. The business provides design solutions for strategically providing shade in public spaces where they can best improve access and quality of life for the most heat-vulnerable, whilst generating clean energy. The team impressed the panel by working well as team to deliver a clear and well-structured presentation, demonstrating both the societal benefits and practical application of their idea.

Torin Magliocco-Hodgkiss from the winning team said, “Eco-innovation as a module provided my team and me an excellent opportunity to explore interdisciplinary business and sustainability studies. The hands-on, interactive, and active learning style contributed to the development of teamwork skills and provided practical experience. More importantly, it fostered an enjoyable learning environment.”

Left image: LEC Eco-innovation Award for Most Innovative Idea - (L to R, Colin Curtis, Luke Fitton, Hope Myers, Charlotte Nicholson, Oliver Kains, Chris Holroyd)

Right image: LEC Eco-innovation Award for Best Team Pitch - (L to R, Torin Magliocco-Hodgkiss, Alex Coffey, Jess Williamson, Olaia Fergusson Biurrun, and Xanthe Quaye)