**Amsterdam, 28 May 2024 — **What Design Can Do (WDCD) has announced the eleven winners of the Redesign Everything Challenge, celebrating some of the world’s most creative climate solutions. Initiated in partnership with the IKEA Foundation and SECRID, the competition now enters an exciting new phase as finalists gain access to a €5.000 award and development training package to help scale their ideas and expand their impact on the world.
Tasked with selecting the winners was an international jury comprising ten leading experts in design, climate action and entrepreneurship, including Sunny Dolat (founder, Nest Collective), René van Geer (co-Founder, SECRID), Daniel Freitag (co-founder, Freitag), and Emy Bensdorp (founder, Claybens). Deliberating together both online and in-person, the jury selected eleven winners from a shortlist of 33 high-potential nominees. In the end, the winning projects won over the Jury by exceeding expectations across the competition's four criteria: impact, design and creativity, feasibility and scalability, and the strength of their team and network.
“The winners of the Redesign Everything Challenge exemplify the potential of design to address climate impacts. These projects not only provide innovative solutions to climate issues but also inspire others to reimagine what’s possible,” says WDCD’s co-founder and creative director Richard van der Laken. “The creativity and dedication shown by these teams impressed the Jury and the entire team at What Design Can Do.”
Liz McKeon, Head of Planet at the IKEA Foundation, says: “Design is a powerful tool for tackling our planet’s biggest challenges. Our long-term collaboration with What Design Can Do has facilitated six competitions, attracting 9,024 entries from 115 countries, and resulting in 78 winners who have collectively secured 28.7 million in capital. These competitions have sparked innovative, design-driven solutions addressing global issues like climate change, health, well-being, and social equity. This proves that designers can create practical solutions, turning visionary ideas into impactful actions that matter for people. What Design Can Do plays a crucial role in encouraging and elevating these solutions, showing that even amidst global challenges, there is immense potential for positive change. We are very proud of these amazing results and inspired by the remarkable work they continue to promote.”
**René van Geer, Co-founder of Secrid **says, “These winning designers all show a hopeful picture of our future and how design can be a force for good. That is why we want to support three of the winning projects with our Secrid Impact Fund.”
The Redesign Everything Challenge was launched in January 2024 to search for some of the world’s most creative climate solutions. Represented in the shortlist of nominees were a wide range of ideas and start-ups, from neighbourhood initiatives to rejuvenate local food systems to solar powered innovations that support communities in need.
Many winning projects showcased how biomaterials could be leveraged. These projects reimagine traditional materials and processes, offering sustainable alternatives that reduce waste and consumption. This approach can be seen in projects like Celium™ by Polybion (Mexico), a revolutionary biomaterial crafted from agro-industrial fruit waste, **Electric Skin (France) **that reimagines the electronics industry so it’s growable and compostable, **Co-Culturing Rituals - BioSoothe (the United Kingdom) **an innovative project using photosynthetic symbiotic material with potential applications in wound healing, skin repair and skin care, and Cellsense (United States) transforms algae and cellulose into beads, using automation to support ethical labour practices.
Other winning projects looked to nature-inspired solutions for biodiversity and ecosystem restoration. These initiatives focus on learning from nature and leveraging biological innovations to restore and regenerate ecosystems. This was seen in projects like **A Bite of Extinction (Spain) **a project that rejuvenates the Spanish food system through a focus on rebuilding biodiversity and community with a focus on flavour, Reef Rocket by ReefCycle (United States), a modular bio-cement reef structure that can be grown locally from plants and repurposed waste, ForestGuard (Türkiye), an innovative design that detects forest fires through sensory monitors and machine learning algorithms, and Germinatorium (Brazil), a nomadic nursery for the germination of rare native plants.
Other projects that impressed the Jury highlighted design’s role for social and climate justice. We saw this from winners such as **Looop Can (the United Kingdom) **a cleaning kit for reusable period pads in water scarce places, the Revival (Ghana), a pioneering non-profit fostering sustainability through community-led design, upcycling, and global textile waste initiatives, and BreatheEasy (India), a sustainable urban ventilation initiative for low-income settlements in Delhi.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE WINNERS?
Work now begins on strengthening each winning idea, deepening their potential impact, and putting their ideas into action. All eleven winning teams will receive €5.000 in funding, and access to an accelerator programme.
This programme begins with a week-long sprint, and is tailor-made for the special blend of change-makers present among participants. Winners can expect mentorship on a range of skills they need to make their projects a success – from developing a viable business model, to impact-assessment and networking. Combined with valuable exposure and publicity, the programme is set to provide unique support for the thinkers, doers and makers of the new economy
At the end of the week-long sprint, the 11 winning projects will take to the main stage of What Design Can Do Live on the 5 July at Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam. Here, they will present their projects to the public as well as a panel of industry experts. A special exhibition and networking session will follow at the event, with room for interested parties to connect with the winning designers.
To view all the winning projects, visit: our website
To find out more about WDCD Live, click here
