YOUNG CLIMATE CHAMPION WINNER
The initiative aims to foster environmental stewardship among students in colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning in India.
With the country home to the world’s largest youth population, providing this supportive framework is poised to bring lasting benefits to the nation and planet.
Recognising the immense opportunities in the rapidly expanding green economy, the programme will also encourage young minds to think critically and creatively, innovate, launch start-ups, and build the skills to secure rewarding livelihoods while protecting the environment.
The Young Climate Champions Programme, launched in collaboration with Earth Day Network India two years ago, is once again part of the 14th Edition of the JSW – The Times of India Earth Care Awards.
Over the past two years, the Young Climate Champions Programme attracted participation from educational institutions across 95% of India’s States and Union Territories, demonstrating its remarkable nationwide reach. Outreach efforts reached over 900,000 persons, including 38,000 student changemakers, through on-the-ground and online climate awareness workshops across 750 educational institutions, including some of India’s premier institutions of higher learning. The overwhelming response generated a substantial pool of applications, with 1,500 standing out as strong contenders for the awards. The prestigious Earth Care Awards ceremony recognises outstanding youth-led initiatives, showcasing India’s youth’s extraordinary potential to pioneer innovative solutions and drive meaningful climate action and environmental stewardship.
Categories for which applications can be submitted
Below are just some ideas to stimulate thought. We look forward to your innovative ones
Developing affordable solutions to improve outdoor and indoor air quality. Ideas include monitoring pollution; raising awareness of suspended particulate matter (SPM), including PM10 and PM2.5, and diseases linked to indoor smoke; mapping pollution hotspots; controlling dust; preventing waste burning; improving ventilation; and designing effective filters to capture airborne particles safely in homes, campuses and communities.
Protecting local plants, animals and habitats through student-led conservation. Ideas include restoring degraded spaces with native species, creating pollinator gardens, protecting ponds and wetlands, managing invasive plants with expert guidance, and documenting biodiversity. Students could also develop engaging communication strategies and community initiatives to raise awareness of endangered species, reduce threats and support their protection.
Developing affordable ways to conserve energy and adopt renewable power. Ideas include campus energy audits, simple solar-powered devices, improved natural lighting, and community energy solutions. Another focus is encouraging behavioural change aligned with Prime Minister Modi’s Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) through everyday energy-saving habits, student-led conservation challenges, and tracking reductions in electricity and fuel use.
Turning environmental knowledge into everyday action. Ideas include working with teachers to develop engaging methods within the prescribed curriculum; creating local-language tools, games, and demonstrations; and connecting classroom learning to local environmental challenges and solutions. Peer-led workshops, citizen-science activities and community campaigns could encourage resource conservation, improve local surroundings and help participants measure their progress.
Making food production and consumption healthier for people and the planet. Ideas include nutrition gardens, water-saving cultivation, protecting traditional crop varieties, promoting seasonal and locally grown foods, and developing nutritious recipes using underused ingredients. Students could also measure and reduce food waste, improve food storage, and develop safe systems to connect surplus edible food with people in need.
Preventing waste and keeping useful materials in circulation. Ideas include improving segregation, composting food and garden waste, replacing single-use items, creating repair and sharing systems, and developing useful products from discarded materials. Students could also design refill systems, improve campus waste collection, and organise safe e-waste collection through authorised recyclers while tracking reductions in waste.
Developing practical solutions to conserve water, protect sources and improve access to safe water. Ideas include detecting leaks, harvesting rainwater, reducing water use in gardens and buildings, monitoring quality with suitable testing kits, preventing pollution of local water bodies, and safely reusing water for non-drinking purposes. Student-led water audits could identify wastage and measure improvements
Earth Day Network India is a trust registered in India since 2011, whose work is inspired by the global environmental NGO EARTHDAY.ORG™, which grew out of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and today engages with over 150,000 organisations in some 190 countries to take the environmental movement forward.
Note: For any technical assistance you can reach out on 8287077958 via whatsapp or call.
13th Earth Care Awards YCC Programme reached to 25 States, 3 Union Territories, 350 Educational Institutions Nationwide. Over 25,000 Students Participated Directly, with an Extended Outreach of 4.5 Lakh+
RM Easwari College of Engineering,
Ramapuram, Chennai
BGS College of Engineering and Technology,
Bengaluru
Jawaharlal Nehru New College of Engineering,
Shivamogga
BGS College of Engineering and Technology,
Bengaluru
BGS College of Engineering and Technology,
Bengaluru
SRM Easwari College of Engineering, Ramapuram, Chennai
BGS College of Engineering and Technology, Bengaluru
Jawaharlal Nehru New College of Engineering, Shivamogga
DVS Arts and Science College, Shivamogga
National Degree College, Bengaluru
Loyola college, Chennai
SRM Institute of science and technology, Chennai.
Vivekananda Institute of Management, Bengaluru
Government Degree College
Shri Ram College, Delhi
NIT Manipur
Khalsa University
Khalsa College of Engineering and Technology
Pillai College of Arts, Commerce and Science – Autonomous, New Panvel
Pillai College of Arts, Commerce and Science – Autonomous, New Panvel
