About the competition
The world desperately needs to become greener and more sustainable. And entrepreneurs like the Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge finalists have the practical solutions to get us there. The competition exists to boost their green businesses and help them to make a difference, right now. Because the world can’t wait.
The Green Challenge is one of the world’s biggest sustainability competitions. Each year, start-ups from Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden – the five Postcode Lotteries countries – are invited to enter by sending in their viable business plans. From a longlist of 25 nominees, one finalist is chosen from each country.
The winner receives €500,000 to further develop their product or service and bring it to market. The runner-up gets €200,000, and the other three finalists receive €100,000 each. All five also get more than six months of expert coaching to maximise their chances of success. We don’t take shares or expect financial returns – we just provide support.
The 2021 final
Entry to this year’s competition is closed. We’re excited to announce our five finalists. The final will take place online on 14 October. Follow our channels for updates on next year’s competition.
The Postcode Lotteries
The Dutch Postcode Lottery was founded in 1989 to raise money for charities working to make the world a greener, fairer place. Today it has four sister lotteries: the Svenska Postkodlotteriet in Sweden, the People’s Postcode Lottery in Great Britain, the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie in Germany, and the Norsk Postkodelotteri in Norway.
So far, thanks to our millions of players, we’ve donated more than €11 billion to organisations around the world, including UNICEF, WWF, Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders. And we’re proud to host the Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge every year.
