Friday 15 May 2020

UNEP awards innovative start-ups working to build a greener Asia

The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) has announced the winners of an initiative to help start-ups work to build a more environmentally-responsible economy in Asia.

The nine entrepreneurs selected by the '2020 Asia-Pacific Low Carbon Lifestyles Challenge' have presented their green business projects in the categories of low-carbon energy, plastic waste prevention and low-carbon mobility - they all aim to demonstrate business solutions that will help the continent ensure a better and greener recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.

Each winner will receive $10,000 (£8,178) in funding, in addition to training, business mentoring and technical analysis of their environmental impacts.

Dechen Tsering, UNEP’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, said: "Covid-19 has brought about an unprecedented halt to many human activities, including some that have wreaked significant damage on environmental systems in Asia.

"Lessons learned from the management of this crisis provide an opportunity to both revisit our relationship with nature and rebuild a more environmentally responsible economy."