How to take part
Choose the track that fits your invention. You don't need a company unless you're applying as a venture.
1
Choose your track
Ventures, Policy & Regulatory, Research, or Financial & Institutional.
2
Apply from November 17
Describe what your invention is, what it changes, and who it affects.
3
Evaluation in waves
Our jury and funding fellows assess every complete entry with the Symbiotic Matrix.
4
Pitch Day and finals
Finalists present online on March 17, and top finalists in person at the Summit.
The four tracks
Each track has its own jury expertise and its own path forward. Every track is judged by the same Matrix.
Track 1
For startups and early-stage companies building planet-first technologies, products, and business models.
Track details →What qualifies
Open to
Startups and early-stage companies
Finalists meet
Investors and corporates
Path forward
Investor introductions, corporate partnerships, pilots
Track 2
For inventions that change the rules: the laws, standards, and markets that decide what gets built.
Track details →What qualifies
Open to
Policymakers, civil servants, legal and policy experts, NGOs, researchers, individuals
Finalists meet
Policymakers, regulators, city leaders, foundations
Path forward
Connections with jurisdictions or agencies willing to consider a pilot
Track 3
For lab- and concept-stage technologies not yet formed into a company.
Track details →What qualifies
Open to
Researchers, labs, students, independent inventors
Finalists meet
Research funders, venture builders, corporate R&D
Path forward
Support toward partnerships, follow-on research, or company formation
Track 4
For new ways to fund, own, and govern what we build.
Track details →What qualifies
Open to
Finance professionals, economists, institutions, cooperatives, individuals
Finalists meet
Foundations, impact investors, public finance institutions
Path forward
Introductions to institutions that could adopt or test the model
How we select
Every entry is evaluated with the Symbiotic Matrix, developed by the Sustainable Innovation Council as an alternative to the traditional evaluation frameworks used by venture funds. Planetary benefit makes up half of every score: a strong business case cannot make up for weak consequences, and an entry that harms animals or people cannot advance.
Weighed first · Planetary Benefit · 50 points
Half of every score
i
Measurable benefit across climate, water, soil, oceans, ecosystems, biodiversity, and resilience. 20 points.
ii
How it treats animals and other living beings: no exploitation, cruelty, confinement, or killing of animals; other organisms used only regeneratively. 15 points.
iii
Equity, access, livelihoods, and dignity for the people it touches, with no forced or child labor. 15 points.
Then · Can it happen? · 50 points
iv
How original it is, and whether it can work technically, legally, or financially. 20 points.
v
Can this person or team carry it through a market, an institution, or a legislature? 20 points.
vi
Who would adopt it first, and the path to scale. 10 points.
What participants receive
Based on the 2026 program. Track-specific support is confirmed at launch.
A rigorous evaluation
Every complete entry is assessed with the Symbiotic Matrix by our jury and funding fellows.
Jury feedback
Finalists hear directly from the jury what stood out and what to strengthen.
Preparation
Workshops on path to market, fundability, and intellectual property, with mastermind sessions before and at the Summit.
A stage
Finalists present at Pitch Day and the Summit to investors, institutions, and policymakers.
Visibility
Selected inventions are announced and featured across Imagine Next and SICouncil channels.
Preparation, a stage, and visibility together form the SICouncil Deployment Pathway.
The 2027 timeline
November 17, 2026
Applications open
All four tracks, worldwide.
Rolling, in waves
Evaluation
Wave dates are announced at launch.
March 17, 2027
Pitch Day (virtual)
Finalists from every track present online.
Spring 2027 · SF Climate Week
Finals at the Summit
Top finalists present in person. Dates announced with the program.
Be first to apply.
We'll email you when applications open on November 17.
Questions
Anyone, anywhere: startups, researchers, labs, students, independent inventors, policymakers, legal experts, NGOs, finance professionals, and institutions.
Only for the Ventures track. Research, Policy & Regulatory, and Financial & Institutional entries can come from individuals or teams.
With the Symbiotic Matrix. Planetary benefit (net-positive planetary impact, non-human life, and community and human wellbeing) makes up half of every score, followed by innovation and feasibility, implementer capability, and adoption and real-world fit. An entry that harms animals or people cannot advance.
Policy, financial, and institutional ideas can't be protected like technology, so they may be discussed publicly. Confidential details of ventures and research entries stay private.
Pitch Day on March 17, 2027 is virtual. Top finalists present in person at the Imagine Next Summit during SF Climate Week.
Entries are evaluated in waves after applications open. Wave dates are announced at launch.
The 2026 Challenge
36
countries represented
1,500+
startups screened
162
evaluated in depth
50
selected
17
finalists
Top 3 awardees · 2026
1st place
Sunchem
Critical metals recovered from waste streams.
2nd place
Airbuild Inc
Self-powered microalgae systems for wastewater and carbon capture.
3rd place
Rapid Analytix Division
Analytics for sustainable industrial systems.
The 2026 Challenge is a finalist in the 6th Annual Anthem Awards, Industry Specific Program · Nonprofit.
