B1-AKT for Social Innovation – To Tackle Fuel Poverty

 « B1-AKT is  Joining Ashoka, Schneider Electric Foundation and Enel for Social Innovation »

Fuel poverty has become a major problem in Europe. There are between 50 and 125 million people who struggle every day to ensure adequate heating, light, and cooking power in their dwelling at an affordable price (European Parliamentary Research Service). This has a severe impact on their health and wellbeing. Creative and systems-changing solutions are needed to transform this issue in an opportunity for these people to thrive.

After a successful partnership in 2015-2016, the Schneider Electric Foundation, under the aegis of the Fondation de France, and Ashoka, have renewed their commitment to helping improve the living conditions of millions of people facing fuel poverty in Europe.

It is by offering support to the most innovative social entrepreneurs in Europe that we can help entire communities tackle fuel poverty and move towards energy sustainability. The 2017-2018 edition is realised in partnership with Enel and B1-AKT .

Scope of the program

The 2017-2018 “Social Innovation to Tackle Fuel Poverty” program aims to identify, engage, and support to scale-up 15 to 20 innovative organizations that offer creative and systems-changing solutions to tackle fuel poverty and promote energy sustainability in five European countries: Germany,

Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

 

Goals of the program

The main objectives of the 2017-2018 partnership have been identified as follows:

  1. Contributing to raising awareness of the phenomenon of fuel poverty at the European level.
  2. Growing the European community of social entrepreneurs tackling fuel poverty and creating synergies between relevant projects.
  3. Scouting, selecting, and supporting one Ashoka Fellow working in the energy field.
  4. Highlighting the phenomenon of fuel poverty and presenting innovative solutions at COP23 this November in Germany.

Approach of the program

Ashoka, supported by the Schneider Electric Foundation, is launching the 2017-2018 “Social Innovation

to Tackle Fuel Poverty” program, in partnership with Enel, aiming to:

  1. Offer ongoing support to the 2015-2016 selected innovators.
  2. Launch a new Call for Projects in the countries mentioned above and select the most relevant and systems-changing solutions to tackling fuel poverty and promoting energy sustainability.
  3. Announce the winners during the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to

the UN Convention on Climate Change in November 2017 in Bonn, Germany.

  1. Offer twelve-week personalized and specialized support to the selected social entrepreneurs, for a total of around 300 hours of dedicated mentoring sessions, with the goal of crafting an effective strategy to scale up.
  2. Host a two-day European summit to present the strategies of all social entrepreneurs, and

conclude the GlobalizerX phase and the 2017-2018 project.

 

Call for Projects

The Call for Projects will open on Monday, 12th June 2017 at 9am GMT and will close on Sunday, 1st October 2017 at midnight GMT. Late submissions will not be accepted.

 

http://tacklefuelpoverty.com/