UCL School of Management recently organised the fourth edition of its SustainTech Pitching Competition, an annual event supporting UCL students, alumni, staff and researchers who are developing entrepreneurial responses to environmental and social challenges.
The competition was supported by Tecno International, a sustainability and digital transformation consultancy and founding prize sponsor, and, for the first time, Geovation, an Ordnance Survey initiative in association with HM Land Registry that supports startups using location, geospatial and property data. This year’s event brought together founders, investors, UCL staff, students, alumni and members of the wider entrepreneurship community for an afternoon of pitching, keynote insights and networking at the School’s Level 50 home in One Canada Square, Canary Wharf.
Ten finalist ventures were selected from a record number of applications across UCL, reflecting the growing interest in sustainability-led entrepreneurship across disciplines. They competed for three awards: Best Pitch, Best Idea and Audience's Choice Award. Each winning team received £1,000, a 12-month business and technical mentorship package from Tecno International, and introductions to Tecno International’s business partners. The winners also received a 12-month Geovation Venture Development membership, providing access to expert support, workspace, community, and hands-on technical clinics.
Opening the event, Mauricio Pettinato Lucio, Programme Director for the MSc Entrepreneurship at UCL School of Management, welcomed attendees and highlighted the role of the competition in giving early-stage ventures access to three important pillars of startup development: resources, community and visibility. Following the welcome remarks, Roaa Nassar, a startup growth and ecosystem-building consultant and MSc Entrepreneurship student, led the afternoon’s programme alongside Tessa Beishuizen, Ecosystem Manager at Geovation and an MSc Entrepreneurship alumna.
Keynote speakers explore collaboration, scale and Real-WORLD impact
Alongside the finalist pitches, the programme featured keynote contributions from Allegra Fortunato, Head of Strategy and Director of the UK Office at Tecno International, and Emma Sylvester, Partnerships Manager at Geovation.
Allegra’s keynote examined the gap that can emerge between startups and corporates in the sustaintech space. Drawing on her work supporting organisations with sustainability strategy, she explored why promising innovations can struggle to move from pilot stage to wider adoption. She highlighted three recurring challenges: the different speeds at which startups and corporates operate, the risk of treating sustainability as an add-on rather than a core business priority, and the importance of translating environmental impact into commercial value.
Her advice to founders focused on building realistic timelines into their plans, identifying internal champions within corporate organisations, and presenting their ventures in terms that resonate with procurement teams, finance leaders and senior decision-makers.
Emma’s keynote introduced Geovation’s work and explored how location data can help sustainability ventures turn ambition into practical action. She discussed how geospatial insight can support better decisions about where to build, conserve, adapt and invest, particularly in the built environment, biodiversity, infrastructure and community resilience.
The Geovation session also included contributions from founders and alumni from its community, who shared how access to technical expertise, data and industry networks had helped them refine their products, build credibility and connect with potential customers. Their reflections offered practical advice for this year’s finalists, including the importance of testing early, speaking to users and demonstrating a clear return on investment.
Judges
The finalists pitched to a panel of judges with experience across sustainability, venture development, geospatial innovation and entrepreneurship. The panel included Allegra Fortunato, Head of Strategy and Director of the UK Office at Tecno International, Wayne Newton, Insights Manager at Geovation, Jessica Kruger, serial entrepreneur, and Maiko Schaffrath, Head of The Greenhouse Accelerator at Undaunted.
The judges assessed the ventures on the strength of their ideas, the clarity of their pitches, the feasibility of their business models, evidence of traction and their potential contribution to sustainability challenges. Across the Q&A sessions, they challenged founders on certification, customer adoption, regulatory pathways, market readiness, data reliability, pricing, competition and routes to scale.
Meet the 2026 finalists
The 2026 finalists presented ventures addressing challenges across sustainable construction, circular economy, climate resilience, healthcare waste, green mobility, energy efficiency and community engagement. Each team delivered a five-minute pitch followed by questions from the judging panel.
- Hemp Based Materials
- Is developing hemp-based alternatives to engineered wood panels, with potential applications in construction and furniture.
- RxCycle
- Is building a digital platform to redirect surplus medicines from hospitals to research laboratories for non-clinical research use, reducing waste while improving researchers’ access to costly materials.
- FarmonaShield
- Is developing an AI-powered early warning system for livestock farmers in Zimbabwe, combining weather, satellite and local data to help smallholder farmers anticipate climate-related risks.
- GreenTask
- Is creating a paid gig platform for environmental work, connecting sustainability budgets from UK organisations with verified climate-related tasks carried out by local workers in India.
- ECO-BRICK
- Is developing plastic compressed blocks made from local earth materials and plastic waste, creating an alternative construction material while finding a productive route for waste plastic.
- EcoMolecule
- Is working on a washing machine filter designed to capture microplastics and nanoplastics from laundry wastewater using sustainable materials such as chitosan and natural fibres.
- Airee HUB
- Is developing biodegradable air filter media made from sheep wool and other biogenic fibres, with possible applications in automotive, indoor air and industrial filtration.
- Sinc Energy
- Is helping schools reduce energy waste by synchronising classroom heating with timetables, weather data and smart valve technology.
- Table for Art
- Is turning underused restaurant and café space into art workshops, creating additional income opportunities for hospitality venues and artists while supporting local community engagement.
- Reclaim
- Is creating a marketplace and grading system for reclaimed construction materials, helping contractors identify, value and sell reusable materials before demolition takes place.
Our winners
Following the pitches and judges’ deliberation, three winning ventures were announced.
- Best Pitch Award: Sinc Energy
- Sync Energy received the Best Pitch Award for the clarity of its presentation and its focused response to a clearly defined energy-efficiency challenge in schools. The judges recognised the venture’s strong understanding of its target market, its integration with school timetable data and its potential to support public-sector decarbonisation.
- Best Idea Award: Hemp-Based Materials
- Hemp-Based Materials received the Best Idea Award for its approach to developing a lower-carbon alternative to conventional engineered wood panels. The judges noted the relevance of the venture’s focus on construction materials, its potential environmental benefits and the commercial opportunity linked to demand for more sustainable building products.
- Audience Choice Award: Airee HUB
- Air Hub received the Audience Choice Award, selected by attendees through a live vote. The audience responded to the venture’s use of natural fibres, its circular approach to air filtration and its potential to replace synthetic filter materials in several markets.
Learning from last year’s winner
The event also featured an interview with Dr Ilan Adler, founder and CEO of EcoNomad Solutions and winner of the 2025 Audience Choice Award. Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Dr Adler spoke about building a sustainability-focused venture while maintaining an academic career at UCL.
He shared practical insights on focus, perseverance, team-building and fundraising, encouraging founders to be selective about opportunities and realistic about the time it can take to secure investment. His reflections gave this year’s finalists a view of what can follow after a pitch competition, from developing pilots and partnerships to navigating periods of uncertainty.
Commenting on the competition, Pierre-Jean Hanard, School Lead for Entrepreneurship at UCL School of Management and founder of the SustainTech Pitching Competition, said:
“The SustainTech Pitching Competition continues to show the breadth of entrepreneurial talent across the UCL community. This year’s finalists addressed challenges ranging from construction materials and energy efficiency to healthcare waste, circular economy and climate resilience. Their work reflects the role entrepreneurship can play in translating research, lived experience and technical insight into practical solutions.” He added: “We are grateful to Tecno International for their continued support and to Geovation for joining us this year as a partner. Their mentorship, technical expertise and networks provide valuable support for early-stage founders as they develop their ideas beyond the competition. We look forward to seeing how this year’s finalists continue to build on the progress they have made.”
The competition closed with a networking reception that brought together founders, investors, partners, judges, and members of the UCL community. Now in its fourth year, the SustainTech Pitching Competition continues to grow as a platform where UCL's entrepreneurial talent, academic expertise, and external partnerships come together to support ventures addressing some of today's most pressing environmental and social challenges.
