Blog

Announc­ing the 2025 Cli­mate Solu­tions Challenge

Oct 25, 2024 5:10 pm

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island offers unique oppor­tu­ni­ties for inno­va­tors to test ear­ly-stage cli­mate prod­ucts and ser­vices in a real-world envi­ron­ment. Select­ed pilot­ing projects uti­lize Gov­er­nors Island’s built, social, and nat­ur­al envi­ron­ments – includ­ing a 2.2‑mile water­front, 43-acre cli­mate resilient park, 7 miles of car-free streets, and 50+ his­toric build­ings – to accel­er­ate cli­mate inno­va­tion, eco­nom­ic oppor­tu­ni­ty, and social impact in diverse urban communities.

2025 Chal­lenge Theme: Cir­cu­lar Economy

Prob­lem:

New York­ers pro­duce near­ly 4 mil­lion tons of res­i­den­tial waste and anoth­er 4 mil­lion tons of com­mer­cial waste every year. More than half of New York City’s sol­id waste con­sists of con­struc­tion and demo­li­tion mate­ri­als. Today, NYC diverts about 20 per­cent of sol­id waste from land­fills and has com­mit­ted to send zero waste to land­fills by 2030. This waste stream dri­ves green­house gas emis­sions across its life cycle, from the extrac­tion of raw mate­ri­als to its trans­porta­tion and dis­pos­al. Waste trans­fer sta­tions in many cities are in locat­ed in envi­ron­men­tal jus­tice com­mu­ni­ties, con­tribut­ing to long­stand­ing air pol­lu­tion. Shift­ing to a cir­cu­lar econ­o­my that reuses, refur­bish­es, and recov­ers all kinds of mate­ri­als, reduces waste truck­ing, and min­i­mizes land­fill waste and embod­ied car­bon is key to achiev­ing an equi­table, net-zero city.

Chal­lenge:

How can cir­cu­lar econ­o­my prod­ucts and solu­tions dri­ve down the cli­mate impact of the urban waste stream and extend resource recov­ery to our busi­ness­es and neighborhoods?

Inno­va­tion Tracks:

• Low-car­bon and cir­cu­lar con­struc­tion prod­ucts, includ­ing healthy materials.
• Prod­ucts using resources that are recov­ered from the urban waste stream.
• Prod­ucts and ser­vices that reduce con­struc­tion and demo­li­tion waste by extend­ing the use­ful life of exist­ing sys­tems and mak­ing more effi­cient use of new materials.
• Mea­sure­ment tools and ser­vices that accel­er­ate diver­sion from land­fill and reduce sol­id waste.

To learn more and apply by the Decem­ber 5, 2024, dead­line, vis­it gov​is​land​.org/​c​h​a​l​lenge.