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THE SUSTAINABLE CUP CHALLENGE IS ON!

DO School partners American Friends of Bucerius, Dekeyser & Friends Foundation, and Newman’s Own Foundation came together with New York City’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability to welcome the new fellows to New York City at the end of February.
FELLOWS

The Sustainable Cup Challenge has brought together 18 Fellows from 16 different countries around the world. Despite their varied origins, they all share a passion for social innovation and have demonstrated an impressive commitment to sustainability. Their venture ideas range from starting a waste management social business in America, to providing access to green technology in rural Nepal. We can’t wait to see what solutions they will implement around the world during the course of their Fellowship year.

 

TEAM

The Challenge Lab will be led by Scott Francisco, founder and director of Pilot Projects Design Collective, and the Media Lab will be co-taught by Alana Range, founder of Radish Lab, creative agency and a previous DO School alum, and Farai Chideya, award-winning author, journalist, professor, and lecturer.

The coordination of the program is in the capable hands of social enterprise administration expert Katherine Lynch. There are also a couple of familiar faces on the NY team, as Katherin Kirschenmann and Romy Krämer have both flown the Hamburg nest to fill the respective roles of CEO and Program Director Venture Lab in NYC.

 

THE PROGRAM FOR NYC

During their ten-week Incubation Phase in New York, our Fellows will work on their venture plans, learn and develop vital media skills, and come up with a real life solution to their Challenge. By the end of their time on campus, they will have solved the Sustainable Cup Challenge by creating and testing a new sustainable to-go cup system for New York City. Their learning experience will include interactive workshops, presentations on topics such as finance and venture pitching, and research field trips in and around NYC.

During this process, the Fellows will benefit from expert advice from experienced practitioners including Ron Gonen, New York City’s deputy commissioner of sanitation, recycling, and sustainability, Roya Kazemi of GreeNYC, Michele Grossman of Waste Management Sustainability Services, and Charles Best, Founder of Donorschoose.org.