The Innovation Gateway is once again on the hunt for small companies with big ideas to help drive resource efficiency across major estate properties – and this time we will be working with three new partners – one the of the UK's largest chain of supermarkets Sainsbury's, leading integrated services company Carillion and the UK's leading independent contract catering services provider catering group BaxterStorey, on top of our main sponsor and founding member Royal Bank of Scotland.
The four leading UK companies are looking for projects focused on employee engagement and reducing energy, water and waste across their property estates.
Applications will open on April 14th for four weeks, offering potential to access new customers for your innovation and a live test environment to prove that it works. Successful innovators will get the chance to trial their products with one or more of the Gateway partners.
If you have a conceptual, garage-tested or market-ready solution that can help tackle one of the four challenges below, and would like to trial your innovation with RBS, Sainsbury's, Carillion and BaxterStorey, then submit your idea to the Innovation Gateway today.
- Engaging on resource efficiency - Do you have a technology-led innovation that can help us effectively engage our colleagues, customers and suppliers on key sustainability-related messages?
- Reducing Energy Use - Do you have an innovative product or solution that can help us reduce energy usage, particularly from refrigeration, or generate our own renewable energy across a diverse portfolio of building type, age and sizes?
- Reducing Water Use - Do you have an innovative solution to help us improve water efficiency in our buildings, to not only conserve water but reduce the impacts associated with its collection, processing, use and disposal?
- Reducing and Reusing Waste - Do you have an innovative disposal and waste avoidance solution that can help us tackle food and office waste? We are particularly interested in finding new ways that we can create value from waste through reuse or repurposing.
With four companies involved, there are now more opportunities and - because of the very different nature of the companies - a wider, more diverse, testbed for innovators to trial their cutting edge solutions.
The Centre for Global Eco-Innovation at Lancaster University will also join the partnership to provide independent benchmarking and verification of the selected innovations as they undergo trials.
So, if you think you have a great idea, concept or solution – regardless of what stage of development it is at, this could be the opportunity you've been waiting for.
Speaking about his involvement in the Gogarburn Innovation Challenge, Nigel Bamford, Director, Waterblade Ltd said:"The RBS trial has been a really important part of taking Waterblade forward, including winning the M&S Big Innovation Pitch. RBS gives real credibility and authenticity to Waterblade and its water and energy saving possibilities."
The initiative is being managed by 2degrees, the world's leading collaboration platform and service for sustainable business.2degrees has designed the innovation crowdsourcing process at the heart of the Gateway programme and will administer the innovation rounds.
Martin Chilcott, 2degrees founder and CEO said: "I am delighted to welcome our new corporate partners to the RBS Innovation Gateway, forging a unique partnership and redefining how large corporates can collaborate to source and accelerate the uptake of innovation.
The deadline for applications is May 12th 2016.
Visit www.innovationgateway.rbs.com for more information and to apply.
