Calling all University of Toronto students: do you have what it takes to shape the future of climate solutions?
University of Toronto’s Lawson Climate Institute, in partnership with Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, a national, industry-led cluster that accelerates the development and commercialization of made-in-Canada ocean solutions, invites U of T students from all areas of study to put their ideas to the test. Teams will race against the clock to design bold, practical answers to real climate challenges, and pitch their solutions to experts. This is an exciting chance for students to showcase their creativity, gain hands-on experience, and compete for recognition during one of Toronto’s biggest climate events. In addition to the cash prizes, select winning teams will have the opportunity to present their work at industry forums, along with mentorship opportunities with the judges.
Pre-registration is required.
What is expected from you:
- After the kick-off event on Sept. 22, form groups of 4–5 students (multi-disciplinary backgrounds preferred but NOT required)
- Download the Powerpoint presentation pitch deck template here.
- Upload your team’s Powerpoint presentation pitch deck here by Sept 29 at 11:59pm EST. A Google account sign-in is required.
- Tip: You can add additional information as appendix, so don’t cram your presentation!
- Pitch your solution with a 15 minute presentation and 10 minutes Q&A on Oct 3 in front of our judging panel.
Good to know:
- Groups are highly encourage to send at least one group member to attend Sept 22 event, but it is NOT mandatory. Register here.
- On Sept 22, you can learn more about the cases and the judges’ expectations, and ask your questions directly to the organizing committee.
- Keep checking this page for additional updates!
Prizes
- Top prize: $5,000 per team
- Second prize: $3,000 per team
- Third prize: $2,000 per team
- Opportunities to present at industry forums
- Mentorship opportunities with the judges
Dates and Deadlines
- Competition Kick-off: Monday, September 22 – Apply Here
- Pitches and Prizes Ceremony: Friday, October 3 – RSVP here
Pre-registration required. Locations to be announced to registrants.
Case Study Options
Case Study 1: Business case for demand generation of offsets
You are the newly appointed head of climate program at a Canadian diversified company. The company has various B2C (such as apparel, retail) and B2B (manufacturing, automotive) business lines and besides domestic market, exports to other regions (such as EU, Brazil and Singapore). You want to initiate a corporate offset procurement program to reduce the net carbon footprint of the company and help transition the company to low carbon economy. The CFO has asked for a high-level business case to fund the offset procurement program. Specifically, she has asked for the business case from both compliance / regulatory perspectives (such as reduced penalties from other jurisdictions that the company exports to, such as EU and its imminent CBAM regulation) and top line / bottom line growth via business value creation (such as increased revenue). Optionally, the CFO has asked for examples of how specific companies that have been able to realize the business value from reducing their carbon footprint to further rationalize the investment needed.
Case Study 2: Innovative blended funding models and structures to finance FOAK carbon removal / decarbonization focused commercial-scale facility
The key to achieving Canada’s climate ambition is the largescale deployment of climate tech, yet tech developers must overcome significant barriers such as elevated CAPEX, binary execution risk, murky revenue streams, and lengthy exits. Students will model and propose an innovative financing structure that aligns milestones across a blended capital stack (government grants and philanthropic risk capital to seed equity, venture funding, growth-stage investment, and debt) so that each tranche is triggered to deploy at the appropriate stage for first-of-a-kind (FOAK) commercial-scale decarbonization / removal plants. The scope include funding for early-stage and scaled growth (i.e. seed to Series-C funding stage).
Case Study 3: Scaling renewable energy
Students will design a securitized investment structure that aggregates revenue streams of renewable energy (such as solar, offshore wind, wave energy) into tradable green asset‑backed securities to unlock institutional capital, scale deployment, and overcome financing barriers associated with fragmented small‑scale projects.
